Etihad Airways may buy JetPrivilege pie for $150 m

Jet Airways (India) Ltd. may sell a stake in its frequent flier unit to Etihad Airways PJSC as the Gulf carrier seeks to buy a a stake in India’s biggest publicly traded airline.

Jet may raise about $150 million (Rs813 crore) from selling as much as a 50% stake in the frequent flier unit, Bloomberg TV reported, citing people it didn’t identify. Last month, Etihad purchased three pairs of slots at Heathrow airport from Jet for $70 million and leased it back to the Indian carrier.

The Indian airline may seek shareholders’ approval to transfer JetPrivilege, its frequent flier programme, into a separate entity, the company said in its annual report without giving a timeframe.

Ragini Chopra, a spokeswoman at Jet, didn’t respond to two calls and a text message to her mobile phone. Rupert Hugh-Jones, spokesman at Etihad, didn’t immediately respond to e-mailed questions on the report.

Mumbai-based Jet may raise about Rs1,600 crore selling a 24% stake to Etihad, a central government official said in December.

In December, Etihad acquired control of Air Berlin Plc’s frequent flier programme for 184.4 million euros ($240 million). State-owned Etihad has a 29% holding in Air Berlin.

The carrier also has stakes in Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd, Aer Lingus Group Plc and Air Seychelles Ltd as part of its policy of investing in smaller operators to help feed long-haul flights and turn its home Emirate into a hub for intercontinental travel.

Etihad said February 27 that its talks with Jet Airways for an investment continue to progress. James Hogan, chief executive officer of Etihad, and Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal had
met central government ministers in January amid talks for the stake deal.