Jet Airways was set to make an excellent return to the skies after the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium (JKC) showed interest in reviving the defunct airline. Nevertheless, the group has faced several roadblocks along the best way, making probabilities of a revival appear like a distant possibility.
Jet’s revival process has been moderately slow-going, with almost a 12 months passed because it received a brand new Air Operators Certificate (AOC). Off-late, JKC’s problems have been severely exacerbated due to several higher-ups jumping ship. Lower than a month ago, even the CEO-designate Sanjiv Kapoor left the airline following a 12 months of service.
The subsequent few weeks for Jet 2.0
Despite these past problems, this month will probably be probably the most difficult for the JKC because it faces multiple payment deadlines and the expiry date of its AOC. Back in January 2023, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the transfer of ownership to the consortium and set a six-month deadline from November 16, 2022, for JKC to clear its dues.
Photo: Nutkamol komolvanich | Shutterstock
That deadline is tomorrow, May 15. Based on CNBC-TV18, the brand new owners of Jet Airways have approached India’s bankruptcy court again, this time in search of an extension on the deadline. The JKC wants the court to exclude the period from November 16 to April 13 from the unique 180-day span.
In its application, the consortium has blamed this delay on its creditors, saying they took the initial 148 days to share checking account details of the airline. Without the needed details, the transfer of funds couldn’t happen and now that they’ve it, a month will not be nearly enough time to finish the strategy of transferring the primary tranche of the payment.
To compensate for the delay, the consortium is asking for an extension of the 148 days that the banks took. The JKC has blamed the banks for similar payment delays before as well. It got an identical exclusion period approved by the NCLT before, which ultimately resulted in the brand new May 15 deadline.
Rough seas ahead
After CEO-designate Sanjiv Kapoor’s departure, Jet Airways is left with virtually no top-level management. Many industry experts also suggest JKC missed a wonderful window of opportunity to relaunch operations. Akasa Air took off at an incredible time to enter the Indian aviation scene. There have been many airframes up for grabs out there, due to the West’s sanctions on Russia. Along with aircraft, pilot and cabin crew availability was also significantly higher.
Photo: Yatrik Sheth | Shutterstock
Fast-forwarding to now, rather a lot has modified. Indian airlines are grappling for skilled pilots and cabin crew, while all planes built for Russian airlines have been claimed by others. It’ll even be difficult for Jet 2.0 to get lucrative slots at major Indian airports.
However the JKC has larger problems before even having to take into consideration relaunching. Probably the most pressing of which, is to secure ownership of the airline by paying the primary tranche of payments. It stays to be seen if the bankruptcy court will grant the consortium’s request for an extension again.
What do you make of the most recent developments in Jet Airways? Tell us your thoughts within the comments.
Source: CNBC-TV18