Qatar Airways looking at stake in India's Air Costa

Air Costa is reportedly angling to sell a 26% stake but could settle for more if the price is right.

Qatar Airways had not responded for comment at the time of going to press.

Air Costa is South India's first privately-owned regional airline with its parent firm the Vijayawada-based LEPL Group conglomerate. It currently operates a modest fleet of three EMB-190s, all leased from GECAS, on regular flights to nine cities in southern as well as north-western India.

Having recently been given regulatory approval to expand its operations throughout India, Air Costa now plans to link more underserved markets with more additional metropolitan areas, as well as other secondary and tertiary business centres. To aid its growth plans, Air Costa has twenty-five EMB190-E2s and twenty-five EMB195-E2s on order from Embraer

Qatar Airways has long expressed a desire to gain a foothold into the lucrative Indian market. Though CEO Akbar al Baker has named IndiGo Airlines as a preferred partner in the past, despite the LCC's successful IPO last year, Qatar Airways has yet to formally pursue a shareholding.