To obtain a license to launch, an airline in India needs more bureaucratic approvals than the city Thiruvananthapuram has letters in its name. But lo and behold, AirAsia India—a joint venture between Malaysia’s AirAsia, India’s Tata Group and one other Indian firm—received a final green light last week. Well, almost final. Assuming no objections from the courts, the new LCC could be flying within the next few months, introducing yet another layer of uncertainty for India’s six incumbent airlines, which are already struggling with a long list of commercial, financial and political maladies.
