The government of India has backed privately owned Jet Airways’ decision to sell parking slots at London Heathrow Airport to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways. In April, Jet Airways agreed to sell a 24% stake in the company to Etihad. The Middle Eastern carrier’s overall commitment to Jet includes an injection of $220 million to create and strengthen a wide-ranging partnership between the two airlines.
Neil Mills has stepped down from his post as CEO of SpiceJet, India’s only publicly listed budget carrier, sparking speculation that the airline’s owners are looking at bringing in a foreign airline as a strategic investor. Some Indian airlines are seeking foreign investors since the government allowed foreign airlines to invest in local carriers in September of last year. Mills was the fourth CEO since the SpiceJet’s launch in 2005.
NEW DELHI — The Indian air force (IAF) has taken delivery of its second C-17 military transport aircraft, a month after the first arrived in India. Boeing is on schedule to deliver three more C-17s this year and five in 2014, giving India 10 aircraft and making it the largest C-17 operator outside the U.S. IAF chief Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne took delivery of the second C-17 from Boeing in Long Beach, Calif., on June 22.