UAE-based Indian businessman Murari Lal Jalan-led Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC) won a second chance to relaunch the grounded Indian airline Jet Airways, with India’s insolvency court giving it six more months to make payment and take effective control of the carrier.
Earlier, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which approved the consortium’s proposal to take over Jet Airways, had set November 16, 2022 as the effective date to pay dues to various creditors.
The court on Friday allowed the Jalan-Kalrock consortium another six months to pay the grounded airline’s creditors – mostly a clutch of Indian banks.
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The insolvency court allowed the extension despite opposition by lender banks, led by the State Bank of India (SBI).
The consortium, which got the NCLT green signal in June 2021, was originally planning to commence operations last September.
Jet Airways in July last year also announced starting the process for hiring pilots for various aircraft types, ahead of its proposed re-launch plan.
The fleet acquisition of the airline, which reportedly received an air operator certificate from the Indian aviation regulator DGCA on May 20, is still not clear, though the new management has announced its launch plans.
“Jet Airways 2.0 aims at restarting short-haul international operations by the third-fourth quarter of 2022,” Jalan, the proposed non-executive chairman of Jet Airways, Jalan said in late 2021.
He also said the airline would first commence with domestic operations in India ahead of starting international operations.
“Our plan is to have over 50 aircraft in three years and more than 100 in five years, which will fit perfectly well with the short-term and long-term business plan of the consortium. The aircraft are being selected based on competitive long-term leasing solutions,” Jalan had said then.
Mid-last year, Reuters reported that Jet Airways was near a deal to buy 50 A220 jets from Airbus.
Currently, the once largest Indian airline by market share is said to have just one operational aircraft – a B737NG, in its fleet.
The airlines commercial operations stayed suspended from April 17, 2019 as it flew into bankruptcy.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways held a 24 percent equity stake in Jet Airways when the carrier was grounded due to mounting debts and went into insolvency.
Murari Lal Jalan, the UAE-based entrepreneur, who runs multiple businesses including paper, mining, trading, FMCG, and renewable energy, earlier expressed confidence that Jet Airways would make a strong comeback.
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