'Air India considers bid for Serbian carrier'

Air-India is considering an offer for Jugoslavenski Aerotransport (JAT), setting up a potential bidding war with Russia's Aeroflot.

Air-India is considering an offer for Serbia's national carrier, Jugoslavenski Aerotransport (JAT), setting up a potential bidding war with Russia's Aeroflot, the Financial Times said on Monday.

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"Air India and JAT are talking about an eventual merger or other kind of partnership," a JAT spokeswoman told the FT.

The FT said an Air India official confirmed the airline was interested in JAT.

The spokeswoman for JAT said that Air-India officials had been in Belgrade on Friday to conduct due diligence on JAT.

Serbia's new government has said the privatisation of JAT would be among its priorities. A JAT official recently said Aeroflot had made the best proposal so far for JAT.

Air-India, India's state-owned international carrier, is in the process of being merged with domestic carrier Indian to take on growing competition in the fast-growing Indian market.