Jet Airways is putting together a strategy to resume flights and may do so within six months of receiving approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
On June 18, the NCLT ended hearings on Jet Airways’ resolution plan, which was submitted by a consortium led by Kalrock Capital and Murari Lal Jalan.
NCLT has directed the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Aviation Ministry 90 days to grant slots to debt-ridden Jet Airways as part of the recovery plan. However, insiders stated, the issue of Jet Airways receiving major historic local and international routes remained unresolved.
While clarity on Jet Airways’ slots is likely to emerge with the National Company Law Tribunal’s order, the airline has indicated to the court and regulator that it is open to alternate slots with an average margin of 15 minutes plus or minus if the requirement for a slot is not met due to non-availability, CNBC-TV18 has learned.
Jet Airways was India’s oldest private airline until it ceased operations in April 2019 due to a serious funding shortage. The 25-year-old airline’s resolution process began in June 2019 in NCLT. Jalan-Kalrock Consortium emerged as the successful bidder for Jet Airways following the resolution process.
Kalrock-Jalan had proposed repaying banks, financial institutions, and employees 1,200 crore over the next five years and intends to build Jet Airways as a full-service airline with 30 aircraft.
Additionally, the airline is putting together a fleet plan in order to reclaim its status as a full-service carrier, another insider said.
It is critical to note that Jet Airways now has a fleet of 11 aircraft, all of which are wholly owned by the airline. These, however, have been grounded for more than two years.
Rather than reintroduce the airline’s older fleet of B777, B737, and A330 aircraft, CNBC-TV18 has learned that the airline intends to retire the whole fleet and lease new fuel-efficient aircraft. According to insiders, the new fleet will consist of a mix of Airbus and Boeing aircraft.
Once the NCLT order is accepted, the airline’s current plan is to resume flights within six months, sources said, adding that the airline’s fleet will consist of 30 aircraft, 25 of which will be narrow-body aircraft and five of which would be wide-body aircraft.
On the employee front, while a large number of employees are awaiting word from the company regarding their jobs, CNBC-TV18 has learned that the airline expects to employ approximately 50-75 people per aircraft when it resumes flights, and there is no guarantee that all existing employees will be retained.
Bhoi Smrutirekha Dharanidhar