ADVERTISEMENT
Jet Airways To Resume Operations By Summer, Promise New Owners
08 Dec 2020, 10:02 AM IST 
Jet Airways was once India's largest airline by market value.
- Once the country's largest airline by market capitalisation, Jet Airways plans to operate all its historic domestic slots in the country and also resume international operations once it receives approvals from the regulators and National Company Law Tribunal, the country's bankruptcy court.
- The airline also awaits reinstatement of slots as well as bilateral traffic rights.
- "If everything goes as per plan and the consortium receives the NCLT and regulatory approvals on time, Jet Airways would be back in the skies by the summer of 2021," the group said.
- The plan mentions the owners' vision to "regain the lost ground" and set new benchmarks for the airline industry, with the tag of being the best corporate full-service carrier operating on domestic and international routes.
- "The Jet 2.0 hubs will remain Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru like before," according to the plan, which aims to help the carrier stand back on its feet fast. The airline will support Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities by creating sub-hubs, which are expected to boost the economy in these cities.
- "Jet Airways has been a brand with a glorious history of over 25 years, and it is the vision of the consortium to put Jet Airways back in the skies at the earliest opportunity. We aim to re-energise the brand by infusing energy, warmth, and vibrancy into it, while making it bigger and better," said Manoj Narender Madnani, a board member of the airline's new management.
- The revival plan for the ailing airline also eyes increased demand for freight services due to the coronavirus pandemic, which pushed the country's economy into a record slump earlier this year and forced thousands of employers to trim their operations.
- "Given India's position as a leading centre for global vaccine manufacturing, cargo services have never been required more," said the Jalan-Kalrock consortium, pointing out that the country's freighter service market is currently under-served by any Indian airline. The Jet 2.0 plan includes an emphasis on increasing cargo services to include dedicated freighter service, a market currently under-served by any Indian carrier.
- The revival plan comes at a time when many of the world's airlines are struggling to recover from a COVID-19-caused slowdown, which sent the aviation market into a tailspin, forcing many airlines to shut operations.
- The airline's creditors have already approved the revival plan, which was submitted by the consortium in October. Jet Airways has almost 21,000 creditors seeking claims of Rs 44,000 crore, and has had most of its landing slots confiscated.
