The fight for India’s 1.4 billion consumers is a fixed match

Twenty-five years ago, when as many Indians flew annually as they do in a month now, two state-owned airlines controlled half of the domestic aviation market. This March, 57% of the 13 million tickets that got sold were booked with just one private airline. India’s embrace of capitalism may have brought the country a higher rate of economic growth than in its pre-1990s socialist past, but sectors regulated by the state have largely failed to usher in the muscular competition that gives consumers more choices, better services and lower prices.