Jet flies in the way of AI-British Midland talks: report

Naresh Goyal-controlled Jet Airways has reportedly come in the way of a marketing alliance currently being negotiated between Air India and British Midland, thus creating uncertainty over the fate of the discussions between the two.

In what can be seen as putting a spanner in the works, Jet Airways has negotiated a pricing strategy with British Midland (BMI) for cross-selling of seats on each other's domestic network, said a Financial Express report quoting an unnamed senior government official.

The ball is, however, in the government's court as the deal could only fructify after the approval from the civil aviation ministry.

Having realised the damage the Jet alliance would create for its ongoing talks, Air India has given a representation to ministry officials against granting a nod to the Jet-BMI alliance.

The state-owned carrier has been negotiating with BMI for quite some time for providing onward connectivity from London to Edinburgh and Glasgow in the UK, says the report.

''Jet Airways has sought the aviation ministry's permission to code-share with BMI. The airline is believed to have negotiated pricing issues also with the British carrier,'' the official told the paper.

A senior Air India official said if the ministry allows Jet Airways to partner with BMI, it would adversely affect its strategy.