KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian airline carriers should consider acquiring stakes in ailing Indian airlines, to tap into the strong domestic demand offered by the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, the Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia said on Wednesday. Vijay K. Gokhale said the potential for growth was vast for an airline from Malaysia or Asean investing in the once-vibrant Indian civil aviation industry. He said the industry, which was previously closed to foreign ownership in India, has very few players, thus opening more space for competition and connectivity. “These are commercial decisions. The Indian market is of course very huge. It will be a very interesting business proposition for any airline from Malaysia. “What needs to be realized is that Indian airlines have very strong routes connectivity, and the acquirer will also benefit tremendously from the foreign travel rights, adding to the strong domestic demand,” Gokhale told Bernama. The Indian government had announced in September that foreign airlines would be allowed to take up to a 49 percent stake in Indian commercial carriers. India's aviation sector is deteriorating with mounting debts, widening losses, pilot strikes, shutting down of overseas operations and with no sign of a solid recovery plan. Of the six major airline operators, five are in red with the exception of Indigo, a no-frills airline. Gokhale said the Indian civil aviation sector is currently going through a difficult phase, further burdened with rising fuel cost and unresolved economic uncertainties. Currently, both national carrier Malaysia Airlines and low cost airline AirAsia operate flights to five Indian cities each. “I understand that Tan Sri Tony Fernandes (Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia) had wanted to establish AirAsia India long time ago. Before this, the law did not permit him to do so. But now, I think it is possible,” the high commissioner added. Given the turnaround phase Malaysia Airlines is currently undergoing, low-cost carrier AirAsia's entry into the Indian civil aviation sector is probably much-expected by many quarters. An AirAsia unit in India and China is also said to be the ultimate aspiration of Fernandes, the brains behind the budget airline's meteoric rise since its inception in late 2001. Fernandes, now based in Jakarta, had before this said AirAsia will only establish its Indian chapter if the airport tax structure and cost of airline operations in India are conducive for a low-cost operating model.