Twenty-three months ago, Go First went into a voluntary bankruptcy proceeding, blaming Pratt & Whitney’s inability to provide functional GTF engines for its failure to operate an airline. The hope behind the process was to cut their ‘losses’, with the Wadia Group buying back everything after cutting the losses and returning to operations.
However, that process did not exactly go according to plan, and eventually, the aircraft they sort of grabbed and held back were released from their possession. Now, the airline has a name and some slots to speak of, but no employees or aircraft.
Go First’s unsuccessful resolution process.
The airline had many people bidding for it, but given we haven’t seen the resolution of the Jet Airways process so far, I wasn’t surprised that there were far too many i’s to dot and too many t’s to cross this time. Eventually, the last bidders in the many extended bidding rounds were a consortium of Ajay Singh of SpiceJet fame, EaseMyTrip founder Nishant Pitti, and UAE-based SkyOne on the other side. Once the aircraft were deemed not the airline’s property, Ajay Singh/Nishant Pitti withdrew from the bidding, and then the whole process fell apart like a pack of cards. As of December 2024, 28 of the 56 aircraft in the Go First fleet had already flown out of the country.
The National Company Law Tribunal passed an order today, putting the airline into liquidation. As we reported earlier, the airline’s Committee of Creditors voted to liquidate it in July 2024. However, due to procedural delays, the liquidation had to be delayed.
Unfortunately, this does not clarify if the employees or ticketholders of the airline will get any money back now, with the airline’s banks getting the lion’s share of what will be salvaged.
Bottomline
The fate of Go First is sealed, and the airline will be heading for liquidation pretty soon. The airline’s lenders have voted for the airline to be liquidated, and the National Company Law Tribunal has approved this recommendation. Go well, Go First.
What do you make of the fate of Go First?
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Indian aviation is one of the most neglected sectors in india. Whats the point of having aviation ministry?? So many jobs is gonna get lost.