INDIA: From 124 Planes In December, Jet Now Operating 6 ATR Turboprop Planes And One Boeing 737.

Future Trend Capital a company from Delaware, is understood to be backing the offer by Naresh Goyal’s Jetair to invest in Jet Airways NSE 0.40 %, the distressed airline that is facing a severe cash crunch, employee anger over delayed salaries and grounded planes.

Jetair is the general sales agency (GSA) that birthed Jet Airways.

On Friday, the bid from the Future Trend-Jetair consortium came in at 6:08 pm, eight minutes after the deadline for submitting expressions of interest (EoIs).

Jet’s lenders may weigh this factor, among others, while selecting investors for the airline that is desperately seeking fresh capital.

Not much is known about Future Trend, it is believed to have pockets deep enough to propose an interest in bidding for Jet.

Sources said Adi Partners, a London-based firm, is also associated with the consortium of Jetair and Future Trend.

According to the conditions in the bidding document, an investor needs to have a net worth of Rs 1,000 crore and allotted funds of Rs 1,000 crore more to invest in Jet.

Technically, there is nothing that stops Goyal and his associates from bidding. The forensic report has so far not gone against him.

Also, Jet Airways is not a case under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code that bars existing promoters from re-entering. But after being almost nudged out from the board and management, it’ a call the bankers would have to take, said a banker.

Founded in 1974, Jetair was Goyal’s powerful GSA that represented as many as 17 global airlines before it spawned Jet Airways in the 1990s.

Its current interests, according to its website, include Jetair Tours and Jetfleet — a car rental service. Jetfleet, on its website, describes Jetair as an aviation services group that includes Jet Airways as an affiliate.

According to another banker, one of the options to salvage Jet Airways would be to bring in multiple, unconnected investors.

Investments by Etihad Airways, National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, and a private equity fund like TPG Capital or Indigo Partners with each holding 24% or less in the expanded equity pool could be a way to avoid an open offer.

Etihad, for instance, does not want to raise its stake beyond 24%.

Etihad has said it does not want its shareholding in Jet Airways to touch 25% as that would necessitate an open offer for another 20%.

Also, it cannot exceed the threshold of 49%, which is the upper limit for a foreign airline’s investment in an Indian carrier. TPG Capital and Indigo Partners were among the companies that submitted EoIs.

Etihad, UAE’s second-largest airline, currently owns 24% in Jet Airways.

The lenders are also poring over a request from Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube to release interim funding of Rs 1,000 crore.

With the Supreme Court striking down RBI’s February 12, 2018, circular based on which the initial revival plan for Jet was structured banks are trying to address the issue relating to conversion of loans into equity at Rs 1.

The RBI directive had permitted such an option for rejigging debt of companies whose net worth had been wiped out.

Jet shares closed at Rs 260.45 on Friday on the BSE.

According to Manish Raniga, an independent aviation consultant and former vice president of Jet, Jet Airways has every chance of survival provided banks give the much-needed interim funding.

Failure to do so will impact customer experience and add to the list of turnaround activities required to stabilise the business for longterm viability. Potential investors may find Jet less attractive if operations worsen.

The airline is now operating just 6 ATR turboprop planes and one Boeing 737 on its local routes. It had a fleet of 124 planes in December.

Pilots affiliated to a lobbying body on Sunday threatened to boycott operations from midnight over unpaid salaries. The strike was called off in the evening in the hope the lenders will agree to release funds in their meeting with the Jet management on Monday.

The pilots and other crew members, however, plan to gather outside Jet’s corporate office in Mumbai at 9:30 am on Monday. There was a similar gathering on Friday, where upset employees demanded an update on salary arrears.

Jet’s pilots took out a peaceful march outside the Delhi airport on Saturday. Employees have not been paid salaries since January.

Meanwhile, the airline announced the resignation of independent director Rajshree Pathy, chairman, Rajshree Sugars and Chemicals, from its board effective April 13 “owing to time constraints.

The airline has Gaurang Shetty as whole-time director and Robin Kamark as Etihad’s representative, apart from former aviation secretary Ashok Chawla, former director general of civil aviation Nasim Zaidi and former State Bank of India executive Sharad Sharma on its board, according to its website.


Tourism Observer

INDIA: Jet Airways Cancels All International Flights

Hundreds of Passengers are stranded in India and around the world after Jet Airways suspended all international flights.

Flights from London, Paris and Amsterdam are among those grounded amid fears about the survival of India's largest private airline.

The airline cancelled all international flights until Monday when, according to reports, it will meet its lenders again to try to secure funding.

Jet Airways is saddled with more than $1bn (£765m) of debt.

It is seeking a financial lifeline to avoid collapse and, on Thursday, grounded 10 planes over unpaid fees to leasing firms .

These were the latest flights to be grounded and it was not clear how many of its fleet of more than 100 planes was still in operation. Local reports suggested that it was barely a dozen.

The airline flies on 600 domestic and 380 international routes - but carriers in India must maintain a fleet of least 20 aircraft to continue to operate international services.

From London, the airline initially confirmed it had cancelled its flights between London, Paris and Amsterdam and India for 12 April, but later said that all international flights would be cancelled between 12 and 15 April.

It said it regrets the inconvenience caused to its passengers and was working to minimise guest inconvenience.

The airline's management and its key stakeholders including its consortium of lenders, continue to work closely towards resolving the current situation, it said.

There was no statement about the status of domestic flights.

Television channels in India reported that the prime minister's office had called for an urgent meeting to discuss the airline.

They also reported remarks by government officials saying Jet Airways only had funds to operate six to seven aircraft over the weekend.

India's Aviation Minister, Suresh Prabhu, had tweeted that his ministry would review issues related to Jet Airways and take necessary steps to minimise passenger inconvenience and ensure their safety.

Television channels in India reported that the prime minister's office had called for an urgent meeting to discuss the airline.

They also reported remarks by government officials saying Jet Airways only had funds to operate six to seven aircraft over the weekend.

India's Aviation Minister, Suresh Prabhu, had tweeted that his ministry would review issues related to Jet Airways and take necessary steps to minimise passenger inconvenience and ensure their safety.

Jet Airways owes money to employees and suppliers and in recent weeks it has grounded aircraft and cancelled thousands of flights as its financial strains worsened.

The pilots union in India is planning a protest on Saturday and has written to the airline demanding that employees are paid. Staff of the airline were pictured by Priyanka Iyer of Business Television India marching to the company's headquarters in Mumbai.

In March, when the crisis at Jet Airways led to thousands of flights being cancelled, the government immediately stepped in and asked public sector banks to rescue the private carrier.

It was a rare move. With India holding a national election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government did not want the airline to be grounded as that would have affected 23,000 jobs.

The lenders which took control of the airline have only released a fraction of the amount they had promised so the airline has not been able to pay aircraft leasing companies, which means its fleet has shrunk further from more than 100 it had at the start of the year.

The lenders have started accepting bids from potential investors, but that process will take a couple of months to complete. And many analysts fear that Jet Airways will not survive even a week if immediate cash is not provided to keep the operations running.

The airline was founded by Naresh Goyal more than 25 years ago and he and his family currently own 52% of the airline, although that majority stake is expected to be lost as lenders' restructure the debt.

A consortium of investors led by the State Bank of India (SBI) took control of the airline in March.

The group is searching for a new investor to acquire a stake of up to 75% in Jet Airways. The deadline for bids had been extended to Friday, according to reports.

Ellis Taylor, deputy Asia editor of Flight Global siad the airline was in a precarious position.

The interim lifeline that the carrier talked about two weeks ago looks like it won't materialise any time soon, and that really leaves its future looking bleak, he said.

There were reports in local media that India's aviation ministry might review the regulations setting the fleet cap, which could allow the airline to resume international services.


Tourism Observer

INDIA: Jet Airways Wants Short-term Loan From State Bank Of India

Jet Airways, which is struggling to keep its fleet running and has fallen behind on salary payments, is now looking to secure a short-term loan.

The full-service carrier is in talks with the country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) to raise 15 billion rupees (US$214.9 million) to meet its working capital requirements and fulfill some payment obligations.

Jet’s strategic partner, Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi, which holds a 24% stake in the airline, is likely to serve as a guarantor for the loan.

Interestingly SBI, which is the lead lender of the airline, had a fortnight ago ordered Ernst & Young to conduct a forensic audit of the airline’s books.

Jet Airways has posted three consecutive quarterly losses of more than 10 billion rupees since March 2018, and as of September 30 had 80.52 billion rupees of debt on its books.

Jet Airways has a backlog of more than two months in unpaid salaries to its senior staff, including pilots and engineers.

The airline is also negotiating with overseas lenders to raise $350 million with Etihad again acting as guarantor.

The airline’s founder, Naresh Goyal, is looking to infuse capital in such a way that he does not have to lose control of Jet Airways, which he set up 25 years ago.

Earlier, the salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Sons had expressed a desire to acquire the airline, but wanted Goyal to relinquish his controlling stake, which was not acceptable to the airline’s founder.


Tourism Observer

INDIA: Jet Airways And Its Woes

The past six months have been difficult for Jet Airways.

In additoin to financial problems, Jet Airways has as well had ups and downs over safety and tax issues.

Jet Airways has been in the red for two consecutive quarters and is also under market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) lens.

Jet Airways issues are not particular to the airline but symptomatic of a larger malaise. The Indian aviation sector is facing economic headwinds in the form of rising global oil prices and a depreciating rupee.

Jet, for instance, had debt of Rs7,364 crore ($1.01 billion) on its books as of June.

Given its precarious financial position, the airline was reported to have even considered slashing salaries. On Sep. 19, it announced that there would not be free meals on economy class bookings done from Sept. 25.

Things have gone wrong with India’s second-largest carrier by market share in the last six months.

March 2018, Jet Airways reported a loss of Rs1,036 crore in the Jan-March quarter as revenue declines and costs increase significantly. The company defers the March salaries of some employees citing circumstances beyond its control.

April 2018,Gave up bidding for Air India citing the complex process.

May 2018, Government refused to approve Jet’s merger with its subsidiary JetLite, nearly three years after the proposal was made.

June 2018, Jet announced new check-in baggage norms. The 15kg of free check-in luggage for economy class will have to be in one bag. Business class passengers can carry 30kg in two bags.

August 2018, Considers a 25% pay cut for employees.

August 2018, Indefinitely defers announcement of financial results for the April-June quarter of financial year 2019.

August 2018, On Aug. 12, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation announces an audit to assess Jet’s financial health. State Bank of India asks the firm to provide enough collateral for emergency funding.

August 2018, On Aug. 27, the company announces losses of Rs1,323 crore for the April-June 2018 period.

September 2018, On Sep.19, the income-tax department conducts surveys in the company’s Mumbai and Delhi offices over allegations of financial misappropriation.

September 2018, On Sep. 20 about 30 passengers on a Jet Airways flight from Mumbai to Jaipur suffer nose and ear bleeding after the cabin crew forgets to activate the internal pressure control. India’s civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu orders a safety audit of all airlines and airports.


Tourism Observer

INDIA: Jet Airways Stops Complimentary Meals For Passengers

Jet Airways has suspended complimentary meals option for passengers, who choose to fly in ‘Economy Light’ and ‘Economy Deal’ within India from September 25.

However passengers can buy their meals on-board from the airline’s menu. The customers will be served beverages – including tea and coffee – for free, Jet Airways issued a statement.

Earlier, the meal bill was included in the ticket fare for all the flyers, making the meals complimentary during the flight.

But following the suspension of free meal from September 25, the air tickets for the 2 categories – ‘economy light’ and ‘economy deal’ will be cheaper than the other categories.

The flight plus meal option for domestic flights will remain for ‘Economy Saver’, ‘Economy Classic’ and ‘Economy Flex’ and for all fare options in Premiere.

On international flights, all features and benefits under First Class, Premiere and Economy remain unchanged.

The past six months have been harrowing for India’s oldest private airline, Jet Airways.

Compounding its financial woes, the carrier plunged into fresh trouble this week over safety and tax issues.

The Naresh Goyal-promoted carrier has been in the red for two consecutive quarters and is also under market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) lens.

Jet’s issues are not particular to the airline but symptomatic of a larger malaise. The Indian aviation sector is facing economic headwinds in the form of rising global oil prices and a depreciating rupee.

Jet, for instance, had debt of Rs7,364 crore ($1.01 billion) on its books as of June. Given its precarious financial position, the airline was reported to have even considered slashing salaries.

On Sep. 19, it announced that there would not be free meals on economy class bookings done from Sept. 25.

March 2018, Jet Airways reports a loss of Rs1,036 crore in the Jan-March quarter as revenue declines and costs increase significantly. The company defers the March salaries of some employees citing circumstances beyond its control.

April 2018, Bows out of bidding for Air India citing the complex process.

May 2018, Government refuses to approve Jet’s merger with its subsidiary JetLite, nearly three years after the proposal was made.

June 2018, Jet announces new check-in baggage norms. The 15kg of free check-in luggage for economy class will have to be in one bag. Business class passengers can carry 30kg in two bags.

August 2018, Considers a 25% pay cut for employees.

August 2018, Indefinitely defers announcement of financial results for the April-June quarter of financial year 2019.

August 2018, On Aug. 12, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation announces an audit to assess Jet’s financial health. State Bank of India asks the firm to provide enough collateral for emergency funding.

August 2018, On Aug. 27, the company announces losses of Rs1,323 crore for the April-June 2018 period.

September 2018, On Sep.19, the income-tax department conducts surveys in the company’s Mumbai and Delhi offices over allegations of financial misappropriation.

September 2018, Sep. 20, around 30 passengers on a Jet Airways flight from Mumbai to Jaipur suffer nose and ear bleeding after the cabin crew forgets to activate the internal pressure control. India’s civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu orders a safety audit of all airlines and airports.


Tourism Observer

INDIA: Jet Airways Unable To Pay Staff Due To Heavy Losses, Promises To Cut Costs Of $285m Over Next Two Years

With Jet Airways delaying salaries of its pilots and engineers for the second consecutive month amid a severe financial crunch, its pilots have warned the management of non-cooperation over default on payments.

Jet Airways is promoted by Naresh Goyal.

Etihad holds 24 per cent stake yet it is facing acute cash crunch after posting two back-to back quarterly losses this year.

While its losses stood at Rs 1,036 crore in the March quarter, the losses jumped to Rs 1,300 crore in the subsequent June quarter of the current fiscal.

Withholding salaries, that too without prior notice, is a serious matter and the management will bear sole responsibility for any repercussions, Jet Airways' pilots said in a communication to the management earlier this week.

We would like to advice that failure to address the above points and not paying the salaries on time would lead to non-cooperation by pilots, they warned.

A Jet Airways' spokesperson said the management is in dialogue with the pilots and other members of its team to resolve some issues including disbursement of salaries.

Significantly, Jet Airways had delayed payment of July salaries to its staff earlier.

It had proposed an up to 25 per cent cut in salaries of its employees in late June but was forced to defer the plan following opposition from its pilots' union - National Aviator's Guild (NAG) - and engineers.

Earlier it was agreed that, henceforth, salaries would be paid on time and, if there were to be a delay, the same would be communicated to the pilots well in time, the pilots said.

We are deeply disappointed over both these conditions being violated by the management and the pilot body would be sure to share our disappointment, they said.

The pilots had written to airline chief executive Vinay Dube late last month expressing their displeasure over the unnecessary increase in expenditure in the recent times.

In the fresh letter, they have also demanded that all unnecessary positions and committees/ groups created in the last three months be dissolved with immediate effect and the hiring of the expensive expats vis-a-vis domestic pilots be stopped forthwith.

We trust you will treat the above with the urgency it deserves and take immediate steps to resolve the situation, they said in the communication.

A spokesman for the Jet, India’s oldest privately owned airline, said on Wednesday that 15 per cent of the company’s employees had not yet been paid for August, though he insisted they would be eventually.

The company said it was evaluating various funding options to address its acute financial problems a day after it made a push for extra cash flow by announcing its largest ever sale, with price cuts of up to a third on 2.5m seats.

Jet and its Indian rivals are suffering the effects of much higher fuel costs, which have been driven up by a rise in global crude oil prices and the weakening of the rupee.

In India’s fast-growing but still low-income economy, the number of airline customers is rising quickly but they remain highly sensitive to pricing. This has held back companies from raising ticket prices to reflect rising costs.

In results issued after a delay last week, Jet said net losses had grown to $189m in the second quarter and promised cost cuts of $285m over the next two years.

Jet Airways has reported a loss in seven of the past 10 years.

I’m unable to understand the viability of the current state of affairs for them, said Madhukar Ladha, an analyst at HDFC Securities, adding that the company would need a major capital infusion if it did not benefit soon from a fall in fuel prices or a rise in the rupee.

As of the end of March, Jet’s liabilities stood at Rs200.9bn, against assets of Rs129.6bn. The company is 24 per cent owned by Gulf airline Etihad, which has said it remains committed to the investment but has not given any sign that it plans to inject more capital.

Other Indian airlines have also suffered a financial downturn in recent months: in its latest set of results Indigo, the country’s most valuable private airline, reported a 97 per cent fall in pre-tax profit.

The yields of the leading airline companies have not even kept pace with inflation over the past two years, let alone the sharp increase in input costs, analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities wrote in a recent report.

The financials of the leading aviation companies have deteriorated to worrisome levels while the industry grapples with irrational pricing.

In a report published on Monday, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation estimated that Indian airlines would post an aggregate loss of up to $1.9bn in the current financial year.

Jet has been hit particularly hard because its fleet is older and less fuel efficient than those of rivals.

Jet is reportedly seeking a sale of its 8.5m-member loyalty scheme business, with private equity firms TPG and Blackstone showing interest.

Mr Ladha added that Jet itself might start to look like an appealing buyout target to rivals at a knockdown price reflecting its negative margins and heavy debt but that such a deal was unlikely to appeal to Naresh Goyal, the company chairman who founded it in 1992.



Tourism Observer

INDIA: Jet Airways Unable To Fly Beyond 2 Months Unless Staff Take Pay Cuts

Jet Airways (India) Ltd will be unable to fly beyond 60 days unless cost-cutting measures including pay cuts are put in place, and it has approached investment bankers again to help sell a stake in the carrier.

The management team, including Chairman Naresh Goyal, has informed employees in face-to-face meetings in recent days in Mumbai and Delhi that the airline’s financials are in a bad shape and drastic measures needed to be taken to cut costs, citing two company executives.

The full-service carrier was believed to be in discussions with certain sections of employees on the salary cut proposal, which has been mooted amid efforts to save costs.

Jet Airways, which completed 25 years of operations earlier this year, had 16,558 permanent employees as on 31 March 2018.

Besides, there were a total of 6,306 temporary/casual employees, as per the airline's annual report for 2017-18.

In line with its stated focus of creating a healthier and a more resilient business, Jet Airways has been implementing several measures to help it reduce cost as well as realise higher revenues, for desired business efficiencies, the company said.

This was without specifically mentioning the 60-day deadline given to employees.

Jet Airways has approached investment bankers again to help sell a stake in the carrier, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The airline is facing several challenges including a surge in fuel prices, a weaker rupee, and intensifying competition.

Jet Airways is looking to raise immediate cash and the transaction may include Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal offloading a part of the promoter’s stake in the company, one of the sources said on condition of anonymity.

Earlier in the week, several media reported that Jet Airways had asked its employees to take a pay cut of up to 25 percent due to rising costs.

Shares of Jet Airways today slumped nearly 6 percent in morning trade on the bourses after reports surfaced that the company's financials are in bad shape and drastic measures need to be taken to cut costs.

Shares of the company today opened on a weak note at Rs 324.80, then fell 5.72 percent to a low of Rs 312.25 on BSE, a PTI report said.

Similar movement was seen on the NSE as well, where the stock of the company opened at Rs 323.90, then fell to a low of Rs 312.15, down 5.73 percent over its previous closing price.


Tourism Observer

INDIA: Jet Airways Acquires First 737 MAX From Boeing

Boeing and Jet Airways celebrated the delivery of the airline’s first 737 MAX airplane.

Jet Airways will be first Indian carrier to fly the new and improved 737 airplane, which delivers a double-digit improvement in fuel efficiency and improved passenger comfort.

The new 737 MAX is a critical element to our future growth strategy and we are proud to become the first airline in India to introduce this brand new airplane to our customers, said Naresh Goyal, Chairman of Jet Airways.

The 737 has been the backbone of our dynamic fleet for many years and we are excited to leverage the superior capabilities of the new 737 MAX.

The improved economics and efficiency, as well as the passenger pleasing features of the MAX will enable us to strengthen our position as India’s premier airline.

This delivery marks the first of 150 737 MAX airplanes the Mumbai based airline has on order with Boeing, following two separate orders for 75 jets placed in 2015 and earlier this year.

This milestone delivery adds yet another chapter in our long and successful relationship with Jet Airways, said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president, Asia Pacific and India Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Jet Airways continues to demonstrate their leadership in a highly competitive market and I am confident that these new 737 MAX airplanes will enable the airline to successfully achieve long-term growth going forward.

Jet Airways is India’s second-largest airline with a fleet of nearly 120 airplanes serving more than 60 destinations across 15 countries across Asia, Europe, North America and elsewhere.

The 737 MAX is the fastest-selling airplane in Boeing history, accumulating more than 4,500 orders from 99 customers worldwide.


Tourism Observer

INDIA: Jet Airways Probed Following Complaint Of Alleged Fraudulent Practices.

Markets regulator Sebi has sought information from Jet Airways following a complaint of alleged fraudulent practices.

In a filing to the stock exchanges today, the airline said last month the regulator sought views of the statutory auditors and the audit committee on certain allegations.

However, the carrier did not elaborate on the complaint.

The disclosure came in response to a clarification sought by the BSE on reports about alleged fraudulent practices by Jet Airways promoter Naresh Goyal and fall in its share prices.

Referring to the reports, the airline said similar allegations had earlier been communicated to it by Sebi in June 2016, based on a complaint received by the regulator.

The company had provided its response to Sebi in July 2016. No further communication was then received from Sebi in the matter, the filing said.

The airline said that in a communication on April 30, 2018, Sebi forwarded to the company another complaint received by it containing substantially similar allegations.

The regulator also sought the views and recommendations of the statutory auditors and the audit committee of the company on the same, it added.

The company has already taken necessary steps in this regard as directed by Sebi and is in communication with Sebi in the matter, the filing said.

There was no immediate response from a Jet Airways spokesperson on the issue.

After posting a Rs 1,036 crore loss in the three months ended March 2018 mainly due to high oil prices and weaker rupee, Jet Airways last week said that it may see a rise in debt for the next one or two quarters.

Shares of Jet Airways rose nearly 2 per cent to Rs 427.30 in late morning trade on the BSE.

Earlier this week, rating agency Icra lowered its credit ratings on Jet Airways' short-term and long-term loan facilities citing weakened financial performance as the airline is unable to pass on rise in jet fuel prices to the customers.


Tourism Observer

UAE: Etihad Refutes Plans To Sell Jet Airways Shares

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways has rejected claims that it will sell its 24 percent stake in Jet Airways by Q3 2019, calling the Indian airline a valuable partner.

The Etihad statement comes in response to a recent report from aviation consultancy CAPA, which on Thursday also tweeted that CAPA research indicates Etihad may divest its 24 percent stake in Jet Airways, possibly by Q3 of FY2019.

This could lead to a rationalisation of capacity between India and the Gulf, particularly Abu Dhabi, CAPA added. In response, Etihad said the CAPA report was false and said the airline has no plans to divest.

Additionally, Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal said in India that the airline has no plans to sell its stake to another investor, following a September 2017 statement squashing similar rumours.

Etihad’s investment with Jet dates back to April 2013, when the Abu Dhabi-based carrier made a $379 million investment in the company.

Etihad also invested $150 million and acquired a 50 percent stake in Jet’s frequent flying programme, Jet Privilege.

Jet Airways is a major Indian international airline based in Mumbai. In October 2017, it was the second-largest airline in India after IndiGo with an 17.8% passenger market share.

It operates over 300 flights daily to 68 destinations worldwide from its main hub at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and secondary hubs at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Chennai International Airport, Indira Gandhi International Airport, Kempegowda International Airport and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.

Incorporated in April 1992 as a limited liability company, the airline began operations as an air taxi operator in 1993. It began full-fledged operations in 1995 with international flights added in 2004.

The airline went public in 2005 and in 2007, it acquired Air Sahara. It became the largest carrier by passenger market share in the country by 2010, a position it held until 2012.

Jet Airways was incorporated as a limited liability company on 1 April 1992.It started operations as an air taxi operator on 5 May 1993 with a fleet of four leased Boeing 737-300 aircraft.

The airline was granted a scheduled airline status on 14 January 1995. On 12 May 1994, all the shares were transferred to Tailwinds International, whose equity capital was held by Naresh Goyal (60%), Gulf Air (20%) and Kuwait Airways (20%).

In October 1997, as per the directive of Ministry of Civil Aviation forbidding foreign investment in passenger airlines, Goyal took control of the entire company.

The airline launched its first international flight in March 2004 from Chennai to Colombo. The company was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and became public company on 28 December 2004, with Goyal retaining 51% ownership of the stock.


In January 2006,Jet Airways announced its intention to acquire Air Sahara for US$500 million in an all-cash deal; however, the deal fell through in June 2006.

On 12 April 2007, the deal was back on track with Jet Airways agreeing to pay 14.5 billion (US$220 million). On 16 April 2007, Air Sahara was renamed as JetLite and was marketed between a low-cost carrier and a full service airline.

JetLite became a wholly owned subsidiary of Jet Airways. In August 2008, Jet Airways announced its plans to integrate JetLite into Jet Airways.

In October 2008, Jet Airways laid off 1,900 of its employees, who were later re-instated due to intervention from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

In October 2008, Jet Airways entered into an alliance with rival Kingfisher Airlines for code-sharing on domestic and international flights, collaboration on frequent-flyer program and sharing crew and ground handling equipment.

On 8 May 2009, Jet Airways launched another low-cost brand, Jet Konnect. It operated a fleet of Boeing 737 Next Generation and ATR 72 aircraft and operated on profitable short-haul routes with higher passenger load factors.

In the third quarter of 2010, Jet Airways became the largest airline in India with a passenger market share of 22.6%. In July 2012, the airline officially sought government approval to join Star Alliance.

Jet Airways wass not a member of Star Alliance as of 2017. In June 2011, it became the first domestic airline in India to ban meat products and liquids in check-in baggage.

Jet Airways merged the JetLite brand into Jet Konnect on 25 March 2012 and started offering business-class seats after the demise of Kingfisher Airlines.

In 2013, Etihad Airways planned to buy a stake in the airline following the government's announcement in September 2012 that foreign airlines could take a stake of up to 49% in Indian carriers.

On 24 April 2013, Jet announced that it was ready to sell a 24% stake in the airline to Etihad for US$379 million. The deal which was expected to be signed in January 2013 was postponed and was completed on 12 November 2013.

In 2013, the airline lowered prices and entered into fare war with low-cost carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet due to falling passenger demand.

In February 2013, the airline's market value dropped by 4.84 billion (US$74 million) owing to falling share prices. Jet Airways made profits in the third quarter of the financial year 2013–14, after posting losses over the previous year.

Jet Airways announced on 11 August 2014 that it would phase out Jet Konnect by the end of the year as part of plans to re-position itself as a uniform full-service operator.

On 1 December 2014, Jet Konnect was fully merged with Jet Airways, making it the third full-service airline in India besides Air India and Vistara.

In December 2015, Jet Airways announced the closure of its scissor hub at Brussels Airport by March 2016 and the opening of new hub at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport effective 27 March 2016.

As of February 2016, it was the second largest airline in India after IndiGo with a 21.2% passenger market share.

The airline's head office is located at Siroya Center in Andheri, Mumbai. The head office was previously located at S. M. Center, a rented six-storey building in Andheri and was moved following criticism regarding the working conditions.

Jet Airways' original livery was designed by Lowe or Lintas then. It was navy blue with light grey and chrome yellow. The top and bottom of the aircraft were painted in light grey with the flying sun logo in the navy blue background.

In 2007, a new livery was created by Landor Associates which added yellow and gold ribbons; the design retained the dark blue and gold-accented colour scheme along with the airline's flying sun logo.

A new yellow uniform was simultaneously introduced, created by Italian designer Roberto Capucci. Jet Airways introduced its new identity in conjunction with a global brand re-launch which included new aircraft and seating.

The company is listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange. 51% of the stock is owned by Naresh Goyal through his company Tailwinds International and the remaining 49% by other investors.

Jet Airways serves 65 destinations including 45 domestic and 20 international destinations in 15 countries across Asia, Europe and North America.

The airline has its primary hub at Mumbai and secondary bases at Bangalore and Delhi. In March 2004, the airline introduced its first international destination Colombo with flights connecting to Chennai.

London was the airline's first long-haul destination and was launched in 2005.

Since 2007, Jet Airways has had a scissors hub at Brussels Airport for onward transatlantic connections to North America, which was replaced by Amsterdam Schiphol Airport from 27 March 2016.

In 2008, the airline was forced to discontinue international routes because these attracted losses due to global economic downturn; it terminated services to San Francisco and Shanghai.

The airline planned to restore the Mumbai–Shanghai route by the end of 2011 but never did so. In 2012, the airline withdrew flights to New York and closed the Delhi–Milan route in 2013.

On 1 March 2016, the airline announced the integration of domestic and international operations in Mumbai airport and moved its entire operations to the newly constructed Terminal 2.

Jet Airways codeshares with the following airlines:

- Aeromexico

- Air Canada

- Air France

- Air Seychelles

- Alitalia

- All Nippon Airways

- Bangkok Airways

- China Eastern Airlines

- Delta Air Lines

- Etihad Airways

- Fiji Airways

- Garuda Indonesia

- Hong Kong Airlines

- JetStar Asia

- Kenya Airways

- KLM

- Korean Air

- Malaysia Airlines

- Qantas

- South African Airways

- United Airlines

- Vietnam Airlines

- Virgin Atlantic

According to Business Traveller, SkyTeam CEO Perry Cantarucci admits that Jet Airways is the next target to join SkyTeam, although currently Skyteam is not out recruiting new members.

Perry added that We would love to talk to Jet about becoming a Skyteam member. And they know it.

Jet Airways has ceased its Frequent Flyer Partnership arrangements with Emirates and Gulf Air starting 31st March, 2018.

This comes as another surprising termination after Jet Airways also cut ties with four Star Alliance airlines — Austrian, Lufthansa, Swiss, and Turkish in 2017.

Jet Airways Operates a mixed fleet of ATR-72, Boeing 737NG, Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 aircraft.

Jet Airways placed its first order for four Boeing 737-400 and 30 Boeing 737-800 aircraft on 11 December 1996; and the first aircraft was delivered on 12 November 1997.

It placed its second order for six Boeing 737-700 and two Boeing 737-900 aircraft on 14 June 1999 with deliveries starting in May 2001. On 5 January 2012, it inducted five ATR 72–600 series aircraft to operate on domestic regional routes.

Long-haul routes are served using its fleet of Airbus A330-200, Airbus A330-300 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

The airline placed an order for 10 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on 29 September 2005 which was delivered in 2007.Jet Airways ordered 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on 29 December 2006 to operate on long-haul routes.

It placed a further order for 75 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft on 23 April 2013 as part of modernisation of its fleet of 737s.

Jet Airways has three classes of service: First, Premiere (Business) and Economy.

First class is available only in Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The first class offers private suites; it features seats convertible to a fully flat bed, personal LCD TVs and in-seat power supply.

Premiere class available on long-haul international flights operated by Airbus A330-200 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft features recliner seats, fully flat beds with personal LCD TVs and in-seat power.

Premiere class in domestic flights offers recliner seats with larger leg room in 2-2 configuration.

Economy class on long-haul aircraft has a 32 inches (810 mm) seat pitch with a footrest and the cabin is configured in 2-4-2 on the Airbus A330-200 and 3-4-3 on the Boeing 777-300ER.

Economy seats on the Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 have a personal 10.6 inches (270 mm) touchscreen LCD TV. Domestic flights operated by Boeing 737 aircraft have Premiere and Economy classes and the ATR 72–500 have an all-economy class configuration.

Economy class on Boeing 737 have a 30 inches (760 mm) seat pitch with personal LCD behind each seat. Being a Full Service Airline, meals are served on all classes of travel.

Jet Airways has a Panasonic eFX flight entertainment system on board the Boeing 737 aircraft and Panasonic eX2 entertainment system on board the Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 aircraft.

The system, known as JetScreen, offers on-demand programming and operates via an individual touchscreen monitor on each seat.

In 2012, the airline introduced a feature called eXport on their Airbus A330s, which allows passengers to plug-in their personal Apple devices.

In February 2016, Jet Airways announced the introduction of an in-flight entertainment service for streaming of entertainment content directly to Wi-Fi enabled personal devices of the passengers.

JetPrivilege is the airline's Frequent-flyer program. A member can earn JPMiles during travel which can be redeemed during future bookings.

JetPrivilege offers five classes namely: Blue, Blue plus, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Gold and Platinum members get access to Jet Airways' lounges and can avail additional benefits such as priority check-in, extra baggage allowance and priority baggage handling.

Jet Airways offers lounge service to First and Premiere class passengers, along with JetPrivilege Platinum and Gold members.

Premier lounges are available at Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata and Mumbai in India and all international destinations.

Awards and recognition

- Best Airline - India' in the TripAdvisor's first annual Travellers' Choice awards for airlines, April 2017.

- Best Cargo Airline 2016, Air Cargo awards.

- Program of the Year 2008, Freddie Award.

- Best Domestic Full Service Airline 2008, Galileo Express TravelWorld Award.

- Best Airline Award 2007, Genius of the Web Award.

- Best Overall In-flight Entertainment 2007, AVION World Airline Entertainment Award.

- Best Domestic Airline 2005, TTG Travel Asia Award.

- Most Respected Company 2004, Business World Award.

- World Market Development Award 2001, Air Transport World Market Development Award.

Accidents and incidents

1 July 2007: Jet Airways Flight 3307, an ATR 72-212A (registered VT-JCE), flying on the Bhopal-Indore route was involved in an accident caused by bad weather.

There were no fatalities amongst the 45 passengers and four crew but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written off.

3 March 2016: Jet Airways Flight 354, a Boeing 737-900 (registered VT- JGD) flying on the New Delhi-Mumbai route, had a main landing gear collapse while landing at Mumbai.

This lead to a shut down of the main runway and traffic being shifted to secondary runway. Out of 127 passengers, no injuries were reported.

27 December 2016: Jet Airways flight 2374, a Boeing 737-85R (registered VT-JBG) on route to Mumbai from Goa skidded off the runway while preparing for takeoff.

15 of the 161 passengers and crew on board suffered injuries during evacuation.

22 January 2017: 168 people on board a Jet Airways flight operated by a Boeing 737–838 (registered VT-JTD) from Mumbai had a narrow escape after the tail of the aircraft hit the runway on landing at the Dhaka International airport, prompting the airline to remove the pilots from duty.

Jet Airways was expected to begin service to Newark via Brussels in June 2005. In March 2005, the airline submitted an application to the United States Department of Transportation.

The application was opposed by Nancy Heckerman, CEO of a US registered company Jet Airways Inc., based in Bethesda, Maryland, alleging trademark infringement and connections to terrorist outfit Al Qaeda. Jet Airways rebuffed the claims.

Asmin Tariq, a contractor working for the airline as a security agent at Heathrow airport was implicated in the foiled terror plot on 10 August 2006 to blow up several transatlantic airliners belonging to three different US airlines.

Subsequently, the Governments of UK and Singapore inquired security-related information from the Ministry of External Affairs on Jet Airways; clearance was further delayed to fly to the US.

The US State Department gave the go-ahead for the airline to fly to the US on 15 November 2006.

In August 2014, two pilots of Jet Airways were suspended after a plane carrying 280 passengers dropped 5,000 feet (1,500 m) mid-air en route from Mumbai to Brussels.

On 2 December 2016, Jet Airways flight 9W7083 from Bhopal to Mumbai was held up by a large group of passengers headed for a marriage in Mumbai.

There were allegations from other passengers that the wedding party was politically connected and attempted to coerce the cabin crew to disembark passengers, so that additional members of their party could be accommodated.

The airline claimed it was a technical glitch in their booking system which led to overbooking.

One Supreme Court lawyer alleged that his elderly mother was harassed by members of staff and she collapsed and suffered a laceration on her chin.

Among others, a member of staff in-charge at the airport was reported to have told him to go do whatever he could.

In 2016, the airline was implicated in the Gupta family controversy in South Africa when it was alleged by former African National Congress MP Vytjie Mentor that members of the business family had offered her the position of Minister of Public Enterprises.

This was allegedly on behalf of former President Jacob Zuma, if she agreed to arrange for South African Airways to drop their India route so that Jet Airways could acquire it instead.



Tourism Observer