AirAsia applies for Indian airline JV with Tata Sons and Telestra Tradeplace

MUMBAI: Tata Sons, India's largest conglomerate and Tony Fernandes founded Air Asia Bhd, Southeast Asia's biggest low cost airline plan to start an airline in India, after the country eased rules to allow overseas carriers to invest upto 49%.

An official for the Tata group said the its contribution to the joint venture would be merely as a "financial investor."

"It is very clear that they (Air Asia) would be running the operations," the Tata official said. In an interesting twist, the joint venture will have a third partner Arun Bhatia of Telestra Tradeplace Pvt, the airline informed the stock exchange in Kuala Lumpur.

Bhatia's son Amit is Lakhmi Mittal's son in law. Amit Bhatia and Air Asia's chief Tony Fernandes are also co owners of British soccer team Queens Park Rangers.

Air Asia filed a request with the FIPB today. Officials in the know say that the airline will be on a 100% low cost model, Air Asia will acquire they are allowed to pick up (49%).

A few hours before the announcement to stock bourses, Tony Fernandes tweeted: " AirAsia will be making a significant step in our journey of being an ASEAN airline. Very proud day for me."

Air Asia's affiliates are Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, Philippines' AirAsia and AirAsia Japan.

AirAsia Group is the largest low-cost carrier in Asia in terms of fleet size and number of passengers carried. Air Asia going to follow same strategy in India.