NEW DELHI: In a fresh lease of hope for the revival of grounded airline Jet Airways, the Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC), the new promoters of the airline, on Friday said it has completed an additional fund infusion of Rs 100 crore.
With this infusion, JKC claims it has fulfilled its total financial commitment of `350 crore as per the court-approved resolution plan. The consortium added that all commitments by them now stand fulfilled to take control of the airline.
However, it is not confirmed immediately that the lenders are satisfied with this payment and are willing to hand over the ownership of the airline. JKC said its strategy to revive the airline remains unaltered and they aim to re-establish the operations of the airline up and running in 2024.
This fresh fund infusion comes after the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had last month extended the time till September 30 for JKC to pay a sum of Rs 350 crore to the lenders of the bankrupt Jet Airways.
However, the big task of flying Jet Airways again won’t be an easy affair. Mark Martin, founder and CEO of Martin Consulting, said it is a good sign that the consortium has shown intent to revive the airline but they require a large amount of working capital to commence operations. They also require fleet induction, hiring of pilots and crew and senior management.
“It is almost like starting a new airline from scratch,” said Martin. He estimates a working capital need of about Rs 2,000 crore for any party to start the airline and meet all the necessary operational costs. After a lengthy bankruptcy proceeding, the the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in June 2021 gave approval to the Kalrock Capital and Murari Lal Jalan consortium’s bid for Jet Airways, eight months after the lenders had given a go-ahead to its resolution plan. It first intended to restart operations in 2022.