Jet Airways, which was grounded in April 2019 due to funds running out, is coming back in 2022. While the future of the airline was doubted for the past couple of years, as the designated court (NCLT) and the designated owners of the airline (Jalan Kalrock consortium) were having two different interpretations of the path forward, earlier this year, the airline made some moves that reflected positively in the direction of the restart. The airline’s new owner-designate hired ex-SpiceJet and ex-Vistara C-suite Sanjiv Kapoor as the CEO who would lead the effort of the restart. He joined earlier this week.
Jet Airways to relaunch by October 2022
As Sanjiv got into the driver’s seat, some more clarity has emerged about the future of the airline. He spoke to the media this week and outlined the future of the airline.
The first thing to emerge from his interactions has been that Jet Airways is well on its way to getting a new Air Operators Permit, and everyone at the new entity expects the AOP to come through by the end of April 2022. The one important box to tick in this case is to get a proving flight done, which the Indian regulator DGCA requires of them. For this, they need an aircraft they are trying to lease, and it will be 737 NG aircraft. The airline will also start operations using leased aircraft.
For the long term, however, Kapoor states that the airline will look to order its aircraft, and the existing aircraft may not be any good for them anymore. In this regard, they are examining the offers from both Airbus and Boeing and Embraer’s E2 jets to take a call on what will be the fleet of the future for the airline, at least concerning their domestic ambitions.
The airline will be funded with USD 180 million when they get ownership of Jet Airways, out of which USD 60 million has been tentatively set out to pay off creditors, including ticket refunds that have been validated.
Jet Airways will restart as a hybrid carrier
Jet, which has taken many shapes and forms through its life, including having a low-cost arm in JetLite and pulling meals, except for elites, will come back in a similar form when the new airline version, commonly referred to as Jet 2.0. Sanjiv Kapoor stated that the new airline will be offering a full-service business class cabin upfront and an economy class that can compete at LCC fare levels.
What about elites?
Jet Airways elites might get their status back, as it could be a significant lever the airline uses to pull folks back in to try them again. Remember, back in the day, the loyalty part of JetPrivilege used to be operated at Jet Airways, but the mileage part was offered by JetPrivilege Private Limited, which is a separate entity altogether and majorly owned by Etihad. Nothing is known about the future of the miles though. The new CEO stated as much on Twitter responding to a follower.
We will certainly restore status. However miles are TBD as it was part of a separate company and we will need to see what the possibilities are.
— Sanjiv Kapoor (@TheSanjivKapoor) April 1, 2022
Bottomline
Jet Airways is expected to get back in the skies in the coming months, as a carrier that will serve up a full-service business class and, in the words of the CEO, a product in tune with the digital age at the back of the plane. The timeline to the resurrection of operations looks like a few months, as they bring together the team required for such an operation, and work towards a proving flight.
What expectations do you have from the revival of Jet Airways?
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