Monday, June 16, 2008

Jet Airways To Put Global Expansion On Hold - June 16, 2008

Shanghai: Jet Airways, India's top private airline, plans to put its international expansion on hold until the end of next year because of soaring oil prices, its chief commercial officer said on Monday.

"After this flight, we will probably only launch Dubai when we get the rights," Sudheer Raghavan told Reuters at a ceremony marking the launch of its new route between Mumbai and San Fransico via Shanghai.

"After that we are going to consolidate our international operations until the end of 2009, when we get new aircraft."

Raghavan also said the airline intended eventually to conduct an equity rights issue to raise funds, but that "this is not the right time" because of high oil prices and weak global stock markets.

In April, Jet's chairman Naresh Goyal said the airline was assessing the market for the launch of a rights issue. The company had previously said a rights issue might raise up to $400 million.

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