LAST week it was confirmed that Jet Airways, an Indian airline, is courting investment by Etihad Airways, the deep-pocketed flag-carrier of Abu Dhabi. It comes at an auspicious time for both parties. Local media reports suggest that a 24% stake could exchange hands, although the $330m figure doing the rounds has raised some eyebrows. But equity analysts are broadly positive about the would-be partnership; far more so than they were for the rumoured deal between Etihad and Kingfisher Airlines, for example, which prompted incredulity last month—many commentators struggling to see value in a debt-ridden airline that has never posted a profit and which has been grounded since October.

But neither Jet Airways nor SpiceJet—another Indian player seeking foreign investment—are free from problems of their own. Both carriers posted five consecutive quarterly losses in the run-up to the current fiscal year, with India's aviation market affected by high domestic fuel prices, a depreciating local currency, and the ever-present shadow of protectionism for flag-carrier Air India. The government's decision to relax ownership rules on domestic airlines in September—permitting stakes of up to 49% to be held overseas—went some way to piquing interest in the sector, but reform will be hard.

For James Hogan, Etihad's chief executive, such obstacles are neither insurmountable nor, necessarily, bad news. Although the media tends to bunch together Etihad with the other two Gulf super-connectors, Dubai's Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways, its growth strategy is markedly different. Being just ten years old, the Abu Dhabi flag-carrier lacks the scale of its big brothers (it has 69 aircraft, compared with Emirates's 198 and Qatar's 116). And Mr Hogan has aggressively pursued non-organic growth, such as codeshare partnerships, of which Etihad now has 41 (compared with Emirates's 11 and Qatar's ten), and direct equity investments, as a way of extending his airline into otherwise-unreachable corners of the globe.

This is not the first time that Etihad has bought large chunks of a previously loss-making airline. Mr Hogan purchased 29% of airberlin, 10% of Virgin Australia, and 40% of Air Seychelles—as well as snapping up a modest 3% of Aer Lingus. In each case, Etihad is concentrating on future potential rather than past performance.

Whether such strategic partnerships can be replicated in India—and indeed, whether they will even be successful in the existing markets—remains to be seen. But two things are clear. Indian civil aviation has immense growth potential, with the vast country's middle classes scrambling for air mobility. And Mr Hogan's uncompromising management style will see his team take over firmly at whichever Indian carrier. A new board was appointed at Air Seychelles after Etihad entered the scene, while airberlin's previous CEO, Hartmut Mehdorn, has just been replaced by Wolfgang Prock-Schauer. Mr Mehdorn was always an interim CEO and was due to have his contract expire in 2013, and yet his departure still seems rather sudden.

But a deal with Etihad offers tangible benefits. Not only will the appeal of onward Gulf connections boost demand for the Indian partner's flights, but the maintenance, administration and procurement synergies will lift its bottom line. The collective industry expertise of Etihad will also be deployed in lobbying regulators over the thorny issue of bilateral restrictions, potentially serving as a catalyst for meaningful reform in the sector. And then there are pragmatic advantages. India's stock market regulator has instructed private sector-listed companies to reduce majority shareholder control to 75% by June, forcing Naresh Goyal, a businessman, to reassess his 80% stake.

While it would be foolhardy to predict which deal will come through, it seems to be moving in favour of Jet Airways. The strength of Kingfisher's brand has never been in question, but its financial results have consistently disappointed and—notwithstanding the limitless resourcefulness of Vijay Mallya, a business tycoon and Kingfisher's chairman—it has appeared to be dying a slow death since last autumn, when employees walked out over unpaid salaries. Legal action against Kingfisher by one of its own financiers, DVB Bank, adds to the bleak outlook. Either way, whomever Etihad eventually selects, the Gulf carrier will have its work cut out in India.