East West To Fly Again By Year-End

After almost a decade, East-West Airlines hopes to take wings again by the end of this year. The airline is in the process of renewing its license soon. It is in talks with Boeing and Airbus for buying aircraft, and with two foreign investors to raise US$ 50 million to US$ 60 million in the next two years.

Senior company sources declined to name the foreign investors, who, they said had a track record of investing in the aviation industry. A domestic investor was also in the pipeline, they said. The money raised from these investors will comprise half debt and half equity.

East West Airlines’ managing director, Faisal A Wahid said, "We are expecting renewal of the license for scheduled operations from the government by July-August 2005. We need about US$ 50-60 million within the next two years. To start the operations, we need US$ 25-30 million".

Wahid said the carrier would be a cross between the low-cost airline model and that of conventional carriers like Indian Airlines. Although the name of the company which starts operations will be East West Airlines, the brand name of the airline will be decided by the investors who fund the project.