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Richard Branson's Indian Dream

January 21, 2008 at 12:00 PM | 0 Comments

Serial airline starter Richard Branson just can't stop. Now that Virgin America is flying, he's got his sights set on India. In trying to break into the market, Branson's facing the same issue that he had in the States: limits on ownership of airlines.

In India, where air travel is growing rapidly, foreign companies aren't allowed to own carriers. And though foreign investors are allowed to set up local outfits, those companies can still only control 49 percent of any given airline. Branson is hoping the government will change those rules, but so far there's no word about that actually happening.

So while Virgin India--or whatever the new carrier might be called--is a possibility, you won't be booking tickets anytime soon. What we know for sure is that Virgin India would be a big improvement just pretending to fly.

Related Stories:
· Branson Wants to Start Domestic India Carrier [Bloomberg]
· HOWTO: Fly Without Taking Off [Jaunted]
· Richard Branson coverage [Jaunted]