Jet Airways hopes for quick okay for share sale

Jet Airways, India's No 1 airline by  market share, hopes regulators will quickly clear a share placement of up to $400 million with foreign institutions aimed at cutting its debt, chairman Naresh Goyal said.  
      
The company has said it would use the proceeds from the share sale to cut debt that currently stands at around Rs137 billion ($3 billion).

"We have requested our authorities in India and we hope it will happen soon," Goyal said on Wednesday on the sidelines of a conference. 

Jet, whose international operations account for 60% of its  revenues, said on Wednesday it will start its first daily flight from Milan's  Malpensa airport to New Delhi on Dec 5. 

The flight, which is part of the carrier's efforts to grow  internationally, will be a code share with Italy's Alitalia.                                           

Jet is also looking to operate a Rome-Mumbai flight in 2011, followed by destinations in France, Germany and the Netherlands in the coming years, Goyal said.

A wealthier middle class, driven by an economy that is growing at 8.5% a year, has lifted demand for air travel in India.                                           

The airline has a 27% market share in the buoyant Indian travel market, where it is outpacing domestic competitors such as its closest rival Kingfisher. 

Jet turned a net profit of $2.8 million in the second quarter to end-September from a loss of $84.5 million a year before, helped by India's economic growth.                                           

To reduce its interest burden, the group has refinanced $400 million debt into dollar loans and plans to convert debt for another $300-400 million in the coming months, vice-president KG Vishwanath said.