NEW DELHI: Domestic carrier Jet Airways is likely to head for insolvency proceedings, as the deadline for submission of Expression of Interest (EoI) for the troubled airline will come to an end by 6 pm on Wednesday and the bids have attracted EoIs from no major potential buyer as yet. According to sources, while names of multiple prospective investors have been doing the rounds for some time, none so far has confirmed submission of EoI for the beleaguered airline. The stake sale process for Jet began on Monday, two days after its scheduled opening.
According to the EoI document issued by the consortium of lenders led by the State Bank of India, interested parties will have to take at least 31.2 per cent and a maximum of 75 per cent stake in the airline. Entities, which have shown interest so far, are believed to be Tata Sons, Delta Air, TPG Capital and current minority stakeholder Etihad Airways.
However, reports said that by the end of the second day of bidding, no one has actually submitted a proposal. If bankers are unable to find a buyer for Jet, as had happened in the case of Air India, it is likely that lenders may eventually take the company to National Company Law Tribunal after June 30.
Meanwhile, Jet Airways pilots’ union, National Aviators Guild (NAG), has sent a legal notice to its chief executive officer Vinay Dube over non-payment of their salaries pending since last three months. “This situation is leading to extreme stress, anxiety and frustration amongst my client’s member pilots — hardly an ideal situation for pilots in the cockpit,” the legal notice sent by NAG to Dubey said.
The notice highlighted that the pilots haven’t been paid for three months from January, and are facing “extreme stress, anxiety and frustration”, which can lead to a major safety issue.
“In these circumstances, my client calls upon the management of Jet Airlines to pay the salaries outstanding for the months of January, February and March 2019 by April 14, 2019, (and future monthly salaries by the first of each proceeding month), failing which my client shall be constrained, instructed to inform you, to resort to all constitutional and legal methods available to it to ensure payment of the salaries to its members,” it said.
Airlines told to increase flights to stabilise fares
New Delhi: Regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation has asked all airlines to come out with an individual medium-term plan by Wednesday on enhancing the availability of domestic flights, in a move aimed at curbing rising airfares, government officials said. Airfares have been on an upswing across the country for the past few weeks due to a sharp decline in the number of flights, primarily caused by the grounding of three-fourths of cash-strapped Jet Airways’ 119-aircraft fleet. The availability of flights was also hit after SpiceJet’s 12 “737 Max” aircraft were pulled out in March following safety concerns.