Revival plan for Jet Airways approved but will the airline fly again?
Almost after eighteen months, the country’s then largest airline was grounded, there is a new hope that Jet Airways may just fly again. Three failed attempts later, its lender have finally approved a proposal, which if approved by the courts, may infuse a new lease of life in the carrier.
Jet creditors have approved a resolution plan submitted by Florian Fritsch of UK-based Kalrock Capital and UAE-based entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan, according to the airline’s latest BSE filing on Saturday.
Ashish Chhawchharia, the resolution professional of the airlines, believes that if all approvals are in place, Jet Airways can fly within the next four to six months.
While no further details have been provided, the bid will now be submitted to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for a final nod, following which Fritsch and Jalan could become the new owners of the bankrupt airlines Jet airways. The approval of the bid has been welcomed by existing Jet Airways employees, who believe that it could be the first development towards reinitiating the defunct airline’s operations.
The Kalrock-Jalan consortium has already put in place a management team to restart operations at the earliest, the resolution professional of the airline said. He added that Jet Airways currently has 12 aircraft, in India and abroad, and the new owners may bring in more modern aircraft.
The airline is also under the investigative agencies’ scanner, with allegations of money siphoning by its former promoters bring probed. When asked if these would delay or derail the resolution plan and if any litigation related delays were expected, Chhawchharia was confident that the parallel investigation would not derail the plan, as new owners are protected from any past actions of the promoters under the bankruptcy code.
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