The India Times reported that grounded airline Jet Airways may be able to resume operations by summer next year if the everything goes as per plan. The new owners said that the airline may start both domestic and international operations with all the slots that were available to Jet Airways before it stopped flying.
Jet Airways suspended flying in April 2019 after struggling with more than $1bn of debt. The move came a month after the carrier was taken over by a consortium of investors led by the State Bank of India, resulting in the exit of its founder and chairman Naresh Goyal, who established the airline in 1992.
The airlines new promoters, Murari Lal Jalan and Kalrock Capital, said, “The Jet 2.0 program is aimed at reviving the past glory of Jet Airways, with a fresh set of processes and systems to ensure greater efficiency and productivity across all routes.”
It may be noted that the new promoters have also decided to stick with the Jet brand due to its value and existing flight slots at various airports. The statement by the new promoters said that Jet Airways will “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,” they added.
The new promoters of the ailing airline said the vision is to “regain lost ground” and set new benchmarks for the airline industry with the tag of being the best corporate full-service carrier operating on domestic and international routes.
“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 statement said.
Manoj Narendrer Madnani, a board member of the Jalan Kalrock Consortium, said: “Jet 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.”
Prior to the carrier’s insolvency, Jet Airways’ largest routes by capacity in 2018 were predominantly domestic. On the international front, the Mumbai to London Heathrow route had the most capacity with 757,700 seats, data provided by OAG Schedules Analyzer showed.
