NEW DELHI: If everything goes according to plan, grounded Jet Airways may start flying again in the next four to six months, said Ashish Chhawchharia, Jet Airways Resolution Professional to multiple media outlets on Monday.
According to Chhawchharia, the first step for the airline is to get NCLT approval on the bid made by the Kalrock-Jalan consortium. The second is to get back its premium slots at major airports that have been temporarily alloted to other carriers last year, when Jet Airways was forced to cease operations indefinitely.
He added that Jet has 12 planes in its fleet in India and abroad currently, and that it would start operations on both domestic and international routes. He added that the winning bidder has put in place a management team to restart operations and is in talk with multiple stakeholders, including the government, to hasten the process.
On October 17, nearly one and half year it was grounded, Jet Airways’ Committee of Creditors, led by the SBI, had declared the consortium of Kalrock Capital–Murari Lal Jalan as the new owners of the airline. According to a Reuters report, the new owners had agreed to pump in Rs 1,000 crore as working capital and another Rs 1,000 crore paid to creditors over a period of five years.
Experts, however, feel it will be very challenging for the new owners to revive the airline. CAPA India head Kapil Kaul said that the path to restart operations is very “tough and uncertain”.
Meanwhile, shares of Jet Airways were locked in an upper circuit on the stock exchanges, jumping 5 per cent to Rs 42.20 on the NSE. Jet’s stock has rallied 47 per cent in the past eight sessions.Jet was forced to ground flights in April 2019 due to a scarcity of funds and rising debt. Two years ago, it had operated a fleet of nearly 120 planes globally.
Jet Airways’ route to full revival
The first step for the airline is to get NCLT approval on the bid made by the Kalrock-Jalan consortium. The second is to get back its premium slots at major airports that have been temporarily alloted to other carriers last year