, Columnists
Qatar's Savvy as Indian Skies Crowd Over
A preferred regional hub for travel to and from South Asia is the ultimate prize.
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In Qatar Airways Ltd.'s decision to set up a brand new short-haul carrier in India, there's a hint of commercial savvy that goes back a millennium and a half.
Otherwise, why introduce 100 new planes in crowded Indian skies? For all the lure of world-beating growth out to 2035, the hyper-competitive market has already seen the rapid implosion of local beer tycoon Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. and is currently witnessing a painfully slow crumpling of state-run Air India Ltd. under a $7 billion debt load. So what's motivating Qatar to dive into this air pocket? A two-word answer may be: Southern India.