Grounded For Three Years, Jet Airways Now Set to Soar

MUMBAI, (IANS) – Virtually written off following massive financial problems, Jet Airways is now ready for its reincarnation — this time under a new management — come September.

The new owner is Murari Lal Jalan, lead member of the Jalan Kalrock Consortium which has fulfilled all the conditions for the revival of the airline, founded in April 1992 and launched in 1993 by businessman Naresh Goyal, and shut after 27 years in 2019.

Jet Airways now hopes to launch commercial operations in September with fresh funding of more than Rs 1,300 crore over the next couple of years.

Though starting with a fleet of 11 aircraft of the Jet Airways that got transferred as assets to the kitty of the new entity, these planes are unlikely to be deployed for commercial operations.

However, the company is at an advanced stage of discussions with lessors and aircraft manufacturers before finalizing its choice of aircraft and fleet plans — a critical decision for any airline — though officials remained tight-lipped.

A high-level source made it clear that Jet Airways will not be “a small or marginal airline, but will grow-to-scale”, though he kept all plans secret for the carrier that once strutted with a fleet strength of 124 big and small, wide-body and narrow-body aircraft.

Prior to suspension of operations over three years ago, Jet Airways had grabbed more than one-fifth of the country’s aviation market, with 65-plus destinations in India and globally, as many others like Air India, Indian Airlines, or private competitors like East West, ModiLuft, Sahara, NEPC and more crash-landed by the wayside.