Jet Airways Ltd—the full-service airline which went bankrupt in 2019—could be back in the skies as early as the summer of next year as the new promoters, Murari Lal Jalan and Kalrock Capital, intend to start domestic and international operations with all the slots that were available to the airline before it stopped operations.
The new promoters contemplated starting a new airline but chose to stick to the Jet brand due to the existing brand value, connect with the customers and important flight slots in different airports.
As per the resolution plan, Jet Airways intends to operate all of its historic domestic slots in India and restart international operations. If everything goes as per plan and the consortium receives the NCLT and regulatory approvals on time, Jet Airways would be back in the skies by the summer of 2021, according to a statement issued by the company.
The new management of the grounded airline has also reached out to top executives in the aviation sector to run daily operations.
“The Consortium’s vision is to regain lost ground, set new benchmarks for the airline industry with the tag of being the best corporate full-service airline operating on domestic and international routes. The Jet 2.0 hubs will remain Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru like before. The revival plan proposes to support Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities by creating sub-hubs in such cities,” the statement further noted.
On 18 October, lenders of Jet Airways approved the resolution plan submitted by UK-based Kalrock Capital and UAE-based entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan to revive and operate the airline over a year after the carrier was grounded due to acute funds crunch under the ownership of its founder Naresh Goyal.
Jet Airways had earlier received bids from two consortiums, one comprising UK-based Kalrock Capital and UAE-based entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan, and the other by Haryana-based Flight Simulation Technique Centre, Mumbai-based Big Charter and Abu Dhabi’s Imperial Capital Investments Llc.
With the revival of Jet Airways, it will restore the confidence among the Jet customers to fly again and experience its world class facilities.
“Jet Airways has been a brand with a glorious history of over 25 years, and it is the vision of the consortium to put Jet Airways back in the skies at the earliest opportunity. We aim to re-energize the brand by infusing energy, warmth, and vibrancy into it while making it bigger and better,” said Manoj Narender Madnani, board member of the Jalan Kalrock consortium.
“Over the years, the brand has created loyal customers and we wish to bring in freshness by adding value—an Indian brand with a global outlook, warm yet professional which symbolizes the New India, Young India. With the revival of Jet Airways, it will restore the confidence among the Jet customers to fly again and experience its world class facilities,” he added.
Apart from passenger operation, the new management will also focus on cargo operations to improve the top-line of the airline.
The new management’s vision for Jet 2.0 includes a plan to increase cargo services to include dedicated freighter service, a market currently underserved by any Indian carrier. Given India’s position as a leading centre for global vaccine manufacture, cargo services have never been more required, the statement above noted.
