The main practicle obstacle to transferring a US CV to a friendly nation such as India is the running cost, primarily manpower. Most nations who can field a carrier can afford to run one with a crew of about a thousand plus the air group, whereas to operate something like JFK or Kitty Hawk would five thousand plus unless the ship was to be run on a skeleton crew (eg not enough to cope with battle damage). A small air wing could be operated well below the ships capacity (ie up to forty aircraft and helos) and at least there woulld be room for all in the hangar, but any pre transfer refit would have to include a significant dgree of automation (pimarily in the engine room) to reduce the numbers required to crew the ship, say down to about 2000. This is on top of the equivalent of a SLEP refit prior to transfer to replace everything that is worn out (wiring, piping, just about anything that moves. Hulls tend to retain their structural integrity for a lot longer than the equipment within) as the IN is dicovering with the Gorshkov. The two US CVs mentioned would because of their sheer size be just as expensive to refit and transfer if not more so, and we haven't even gotten to the air wing yet. The Mig 29Ks are a done deal, and while they would have no problem landing on a large CV, they are not designed for catapult launching, so either they would have to be seriously redesigned and/or rebuilt, different aircraft would have to aquired (F/A 18 or Rafale?) or the IN would have to remain on the STOVL road (Harriers can fly from anything with a flat dec, they aren't fussy) which would inevitably lead to closer links to the US in order to get the F-35B (desirable, but politically difficult given India's intention to remain equidistant between the US and Russia). Given the alternatives, it is hardly surprising they took the course they did, though perhaps they shoudn't have taken the so much on trust from the Russian shipyard...
The same problems arise when considering other nations who might be in the market for a carrier (eg Brazil, Argentina, UK, France etc) inasmuch as the running costs compare to a new design are just too high to make it viable. In Britain, the Invincibles are run with a crew of just 685 plus air group, and to jump to a ship with a crew of five thousand is just not feasible.
, well JFK is still sitting at Philly, and she's newer and in a lot better shape - not that that's likely to happen), but who knows these days?
