The alliance saga of the carriers of India continues…

After Star Alliance formally invited Jet Airways, and Air India got out of the way, it seemed like Jet Airways joining Star was just a matter of time.

But, this morning, a major Indian newspaper published an article titled “Jet Airways may not join Star Alliance” -

Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline alliance, may not get any member airline from India — one of the world’s largest growing aviation market.

After the 27-strong member alliance rejected Air India’s application for a membership, Jet Airways, who is in talks with the alliance, may decide against joining the group.

“We are talking to all three alliances and may not join Star Alliance because they already have a strong member in this side of the world,” said a senior Jet executive on condition of anonymity.

The Naresh Goyal-promoted airline is also in talks with global alliances Oneworld and SkyTeam.

“We do not know how much will we benefit by joining the alliance with Singapore already a member. There is a thinking that the benefits will not be much from Star Alliance and our talks with the other two airline alliances is also on,” he said.

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Now, I’m not exactly sure what Jet Airways is trying to accomplish with this. Are they trying to get a better deal from Star? Are they actually choosing a different alliance? Are they totally confused, just like we are?

It is no secret that Singapore Airlines is a member of Star Alliance. They joined over a decade ago – not yesterday. And on the other hand, what is so special about Singapore? Thai and Lufthansa also have comprehensive Indian networks… And in other alliances, Cathay, SriLankan, and Malaysia Airlines (oneworld) also serve many Indian gateways. And SkyTeam has lots of Asian carriers as well.

There’s no doubt that Jet should look at all its options, but this is getting ridiculous. At this rate, there won’t be any Indian carriers in alliances even a decade from now.