Former Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube joins GoAir in advisory role

Former Jet Airways chief executive Vinay Dube has joined budget carrier GoAir in an advisory role, a source said on Saturday.
Dube had quit defunct Jet Airways on May 14, nearly a month after the airline ceased operations due to severe liquidity crisis.

According to the source, GoAir wanted to hire him for the position of the CEO, which is lying vacant since March this year.
"However, since there is a look-out notice against him from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in Jet Airways case, it (the decision) would have got in legal tangle. Therefore, he has joined GoAir in an advisory role," the source told PTI.
Dube boarded the Wadia group-promoted carrier last week, the source added.
A response is waited on the query sent by PTI on the development.
Lookout circulars were issued against former Jet Airways chairman and then promoter Naresh Goyal and Dube, among others, in late May for alleged financial irregularities at the airline.
The circular is issued against a person directing the immigration authorities to ensure that he or she does not leave India through an airport or seaport.

Jet Airways crisis: Lenders extend expression of interest deadline again

Jet Airways lenders on Monday decided to extend the deadline for submission of the expression of interest (EoI) to August 31.
South America-based Synergy Group Corp had expressed interest in Jet last week and now the deadline has been extended to give another opportunity to a potential investor. The airline’s resolution professional is in talks with the new suitor, which has shown genuine interest in the defunct airline, said people in the know.

Earlier this year, the Synergy group also expressed interest in Italian carrier Alitalia. It is also expected that a few more EoIs may come in for Jet Airways within the extended deadline.
So far, the resolution professional had received EoIs from Panama-based Avantulo Group and a Russian fund called Treasury Creator. Anil Agarwal had also expressed interest in the airline and submitted an exploratory EoI for Jet but later pulled out of the race. However, only the Russian fund has been shortlisted so far, said sources.
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ALSO READ: RP of Jet Airways wants NCLT to ask lenders for interim financing
Synergy Group Corp, founded by businessman German Efromovich, owns the majority stake in Avianca Airlines. Efromovich purchased Avianca, which went through bankruptcy in 2004, and has since turned around the carrier into South America’s second-largest airline. Avianca operates a fleet of 180 aircraft and serves over a hundred destinations in 28 countries with main operations in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, among other countries.
However, both the airline and its largest share owner are facing a crisis this year. The airline’s Brazilian unit ceased operations following a bankruptcy.
Efromovich, too, had to step down as the airline’s chairman following a loan default. The loan was taken by the Synergy Group by pledging its stake in Avianca as collateral.
ALSO READ: Govt allows airlines to use defunct Jet Airways' slots till year-end
“We do not have any information regarding the transaction you mentioned nor can we make any statements on behalf of any of our shareholders,” Avianca Airlines said in an emailed response.
The lenders on Monday decided to release the initial interim funding of $10 million for maintenance of Jet.
However, an application may still be filed in the National Company Law Tribunal asking the tribunal to direct the lenders to release funds. More funds have been sought from the lenders for recovery of the aircraft engines stuck in a maintenance unit over unpaid dues.
The lenders have given in-principal nod for the extra sum but will have to approve it through a vote this week.
The dispute with Luckystar, the owner of Jet’s HQs, has been settled. However, some issue with regard to the deposit money still needs to be sorted out. No settlement has been reached with HDFC with regard to an office space in Bandra-Kurla Complex, which was mortgaged for a loan of Rs 400 crore. Jet came under insolvency on June 20 despite the banks making efforts to find a suitor. It stopped flying on April 17. So far, Jet has received 18,596 claims, of which 13,911 have been admitted.
Revival work in progress
The resolution professional has received EoIs from Panama-based Avantulo Group and Russian fund Treasury Creator
Only the Russian fund has been shortlisted so far
Last week, South America-based
Synergy Group expressed interest in Jet
It is also expected that a few more EoIs may come in for Jet Airways within the extended deadline

Jet Airways extends deadline for submitting initial bids to Aug 10

The deadline for submission of expression of interest (EoI) for the revival of Jet Airways has been extended by a week to August 10.
The last date has been extended as potential bidders sought additional time, resolution professional Ashish Chhawchharia said in an announcement on Saturday. As part of the ongoing resolution process of Jet in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), August 3 was earlier set as the deadline for submission of EoIs from potential bidders.

Jet Airways shut operations on April 17 and was referred to the insolvency court in June as lenders were unable to secure viable investment offers. A fresh process is being carried out to find a buyer under the insolvency rules.
Sources said two to three companies had shown interest in reviving the grounded airline and had held discussions with the resolution professional. The idea behind extending the deadline is to enable better participation, they said.
Etihad Airways, which holds a 24 per cent stake in Jet, is said to be one of the interested parties. The Abu Dhabi-based airline had revived talks with Hinduja group to submit a joint offer but it is yet to firm up its plan, a source in the know pointed out. Etihad is still looking for partners to co-invest in Jet, it is learnt.
The grounded airline's liabilities are also said to be an area of concern for Etihad. The resolution professional has received claims worth ~24,000 crore from Jet's creditors and employees. Etihad did not immediately comment on Saturday.
The resolution professional's announcement said the deadline had been extended provisionally, subject to approval from the committee of creditors.
It said requests were received from "prima facie credible interested resolution applicants."
"The proposed extension is to ensure the objectives of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code are achieved and we are able to maximise the value of the assets of the corporate debtor and achieve a better outcome for all the stakeholders in this fast-track process," it said.

Jet's resolution professional invites expressions of interest by August 3

The resolution professional (RP) of Jet Airways Saturday called for expressions of interest (EoIs) to sell the grounded airline's meager assets by August 3.
In an advertisement posted on the airline's website and in newspapers, the RP, Ashish Chhawchharia, appointed by Jet Airways' lenders, has set a deadline of August 3 for receipt of EoIs, August 6 as the date of issue of provisional list of prospective resolution applicants, and August 11 as the last date of submission of objections.

The advertisement stated that on August 14, final list of prospective resolution applicants will be issued.
The final date for submission of resolution plans of these applicants will be September 5, it added.
The estimated date for the submission of resolution plan by the RP to the National Company Law Tribunal for approval is September 20.
The airline's assets include 14 aircraft including 10 Boeing planes -- down from 124 before the grounding -- and 49 per cent stake in Jet Privilege and a few buildings.
Its liabilities are over Rs 36,000 crore, including more than Rs 10,000 crore of vendor dues, Rs 8,500 crore along with interest owed to the lenders, over Rs 3,000 crore in salary dues and more than Rs 13,500 crore in accumulated losses of the past three years.
The lenders also list spares, slots and routes as the assets of the Naresh Goyal-promoted airline which operated its last flight on April 17.
The next hearing on the insolvency case and RP's progress report is on July 23.
The airline was sent to the NCLT on June 17, to recover loans of Rs 8,500 crore.
On June 20, NCLT admitted the insolvency petition filed by the lenders' consortium led by State Bank against Jet Airways.
Before it was sent to the NCLT, the banks, which own half of the shares in the airline, had sought expressions of interest from both strategic and financial investors to sell between 31.2 and 75 per cent stake.
The bankers received four non-binding EoIs in April, while Etihad Airways, which owns 24 per cent in the carrier, had submitted a conditional bid. But none of the bidders moved forward.

Jet Airways employees consortium, AdiGroup to bid for 75% of airline

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, a Jet Airways Employee Consortium and AdiGroup Friday announced a partnership to bid for 75 per cent of the airlines through the NCLT process, members of the consortium said.
The debt-laden company became the first domestic airliner to go into bankruptcy after the Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted an insolvency petition filed by the SBI on behalf of 26 lenders on June 20.

The airline owes Rs 8,500 crore to banks and around Rs 25,000 crore in arrears to vendors, lessors and employees.
"Jet Airways Employee Consortium and AdiGroup are delighted to announce their partnership to bid for acquisition of 75 per cent of Jet Airways through NCLT process.
"This is a new dawn in the history of India Aviation of operating an airline through Employee Initiative programme where every single employee of Jet Airways will become an owner of the airline.
"It truly embodies prime minister's dream 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sabka Vishwas', a joint statement from the consortium and the AdiGroup said.
At a press conference here Capt. Ashwani Tyagi, Commander Boeing 777, General Secretary-Society for Welfare of Indian Pilots, and one of Jet's senior-most pilots who has been with the airline for 18 years said the airlines was like a family to him and it was "challenging yet exciting journey to revive Jet Airways.

Jet Airways zooms over 150% in intraday trade; settles 93% higher on BSE

Jet Airways rallied 150 per cent in intra-day deals on Thursday on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) with the stock hitting a high of Rs 82.75. It, however, trimmed gains to settle at Rs 73.55, up still a massive 122 per cent.
On the BSE, the scrip hit a high of Rs 77.35. The counter, however, ended the day 93 per cent higher at Rs 64 levels. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 1.25 per cent, or 489 points to end at 39,602 levels, while the NSE’s Nifty50 closed 1.2 per cent up at 11,832 levels.

The rally comes ahead of the order from National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on insolvency plea filed by State Bank of India (SBI), due to be heard later in the day today.
A Dutch district court-appointed administrator Rocco Mulder through lawyers moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Wednesday to file an intervention application in the insolvency matter of Jet Airways filed by State Bank of India (SBI) on June 19.
However, the tribunal did not allow it and asked them to argue the matter on June 20. The engineers’ and pilots’ associations also moved the tribunal seeking to be made parties to the ongoing insolvency matter. READ ABOUT IT HERE
That event apart, analysts attribute the sharp rally to the counter moving out of the futures & options (F&O) segment upon the expiry of contracts on June 27 and triggering a short-covering on Thursday. Nearly 121.29-lakh shares had been traded on the BSE till close of trade on Thursday, as compared to an average 23.92-lakh shares traded on the BSE in the past two weeks, exchange data show.
“Jet Airways has been in news over the past few months and is among the top losers in the BSE 500 pack on a year-to-date basis. The sharp rally on Thursday could be due to the stocks moving out of the F&O segment next week when the trades have to be either rolled over or squared. It could have triggered a short-covering in the counter on Thursday,” said A K Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital.
Thus far in calendar year 2019 (CY19), Jet Airways has been the second-worst performer among the stocks that comprise the BSE 500 index, falling around 88 per cent till June 19 to Rs 33 levels, ACE equity data show. Only Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Communications (RCom) has performed worst and slipped nearly 91 per cent during this period.
Meanwhile, State Bank of India (SBI) - led lenders’ consortium had moved NCLT to initiate insolvency proceedings against the airline. The lenders, post a meeting held on Monday, decided to move the tribunal after none of the offers from the potential bidders could materialise. There were hopes that Mumbai-based Hinduja Group could team up with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airlines to collectively take up stake in the airline. READ ABOUT IT HERE

Jet a 'wake up call'; policymakers to be partly blamed: SpiceJet chief

The failure of Jet Airways should be a "wake up call" for the aviation industry and at least part of the blame should be at the doorstep of the policymakers as the cost structure is high, SpiceJet chief Ajay Singh has said.
Low-cost carrier SpiceJet is expanding its operations and is set to take on lease 30 planes that were flown by Jet Airways, which suspended operations in April due to cash crunch. SpiceJet has at least 100 aircraft in its fleet now.

Noting that the grounding of Jet Airways was "very sad", Singh said that internal factors and high costs were among the reasons for its failure.
"Jet Airways grounding is something which is very sad and it should be a wake up for all of us in the aviation sector and the policymakers. I think Jet Airways was an iconic brand, and at least part of the blame for its failure has to be at the door step of the policymakers.
"...High cost structure which is being imposed on aviation has certainly led to its downfall and of course, internal factors. The fact that Jet had a cost structure which was probably uncompetitive and as airlines came, it became tough to get yield commensurate with cost structure," he told PTI in an interview.
Jet Airways operated for nearly 26 years, with an extensive network of domestic and international flights.
Indian aviation sector has high growth potential, but airlines have been flagging concerns about high costs, especially for aviation turbine fuel (ATF) that accounts for over 40 per cent of an airline's operational expenses.
Singh said high taxes on ATF, certain infrastructure charges as well as high import duty on aircraft parts and services are among the factors which make the domestic aviation sector "uncompetitive".
"To compete increasingly with global carriers, it is important that we find a cost structure which is competitive with them.
"We need to relook at the way airports are being bid and ensure that we pass on competitive airport cost as well as to airlines. If you want to be a global hub, your charges at airports have to be commensurate with other global hubs... If you do not make them competitive, then you will not be a global hub. We need to look at this in a more holistic fashion rather than just through the prism of Jet Airways," he noted.
About the overall industry sentiment after the Jet Airways crisis, Singh said in the short term, the airline suspending operations helps other carriers.
"It... increases the yields. It enables SpiceJet to grow at a pace which otherwise may not have been possible. But these are short-term advantages; but in the longer term, we need to ensure that the overall aviation sector is healthy. For that to happen, we need to fix the underlying problems. I hope that the government will go some distance to do that," he noted.
Speaking on the sidelines of the just-concluded global airlines' body International Air Transport Association's annual general meeting, Singh said the aviation sector is a huge force multiplier for the economy and tourism.
"It is important that we benchmark our sector with what is happening globally... I think there is understanding in this (Indian) government as was evident in the last term that they need to make the sector competitive," the Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet said.
SpiceJet plans to hire up to 2,000 staff of Jet Airways, including pilots and cabin crew. The airline has already taken more than 1,100 such people.
To a query about rival IndiGo's dominant market share, Singh said that monopolies are not good for business but did not elaborate.
"I don't want to comment on any particular airline except to say that what IndiGo has achieved is something all of us have to be proud of. As far as government, regulators and aviation sector are concerned, it helps the aviation sector to have a balance and be competitive. Obviously, monopolies are not good for business. I would think that everybody will work towards creating balance in competition," he said.
IndiGo, which operates more than 1,300 flights daily, had a domestic market share of nearly 50 per cent in April. During the same period, SpiceJet's market share stood at 13.1 per cent, as per data from aviation regulator DGCA.

Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, wife stopped from flying abroad

Immigration officials at Mumbai airport called back a taxiing Emirates Boeing 777 aircraft to stop Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and his wife, Anita, from leaving the country.
Goyal and his wife, who are non-resident Indians, were travelling to Dubai on an Emirates flight to attend business meetings, a source said. They were deboarded and informed they could not leave the country.
Later, they were allowed to go home and their passports handed over to them after the completion of formalities. According to sources, the couple was stopped on the basis of a look-out circular against Naresh Goyal.
The aircraft eventually took off around 5 pm after a 90-minute delay. In a statement, Emirates said: "Emirates is co-operating fully with the relevant authorities and we abide by the laws of the various countries we operate in."
Goyal founded Jet Airways in 1993 and was its chairman till he was asked to step down by lenders in March.
ALSO READ: Naresh Goyal quits Jet: How aviation legend reached end of the road
Jet, which has a debt of over Rs 8,000 crore, shut operations last month, after running short of cash. Banks denied fresh loans as well. Goyal's resignation has come under much criticism and unpaid employees have questioned why banks asked their chairman to step down and not release any funds.
The airline's grounding has left 14,000 employees without pay. The CEO and other senior executives have quit.

ALSO READ: No sacrifice too big to safeguard interest of Jet Airways: Naresh Goyal
A staff union, led by Nationalist Congress Party MLC Kiran Pawaskar, had filed a police complaint seeking restrictions on Goyal and the senior management from leaving India.
Jet is also facing multiple probes by the income-tax department and the corporate affairs ministry for tax evasion and other non-compliance issues. The Enforcement Directorate is also probing the majority sale of its loyalty programme to Etihad Airways.
The development comes as lenders continue to search for an investor. Over half its planes have been repossessed. Lenders and strategic partner Etihad Airways are in discussions with the Hinduja group for a possible revival.

Jet CEO Vinay Dube resigns, follows chief financial officer Agarwal

Jet Airways said on Tuesday its Chief Executive Officer Vinay Dube had resigned with immediate effect.
Dube's exit comes shortly after the resignation of its Chief Financial Officer Amit Agarwal, that was announced earlier in the day. Agarwal's resignation was effective May 13, the company said.
The debt-strapped company said Dube and Agarwal resigned due to personal reasons, without providing further details. Rahul Taneja, the airline's chief people officer, too has resigned, CNBC TV 18 reported.
The airline, once the biggest private carrier in the country, owes vast sums to its lessors, pilots, fuel suppliers and other parties. It stopped all flights from April 17 after its lenders refused to extend more funds to keep the carrier flying.

Jet Airways gains 24% in three days ahead of buy-out bidding outcome

Shares of Jet Airways inched up for the third consecutive day on Friday, rallying 7 per cent intra-day on the BSE to quote Rs 158 apiece after the airline received its first formal buy-out bid.
State Bank of India-led lenders'consortium had invited bids from potential buyers, for the temporarily shut airline, till May 10.

In the past three trading days, the stock has rallied 24 per cent as compared to a 2 per cent decline in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex. It recovered 31 per cent from its multi-year low level of Rs 121 touched on Tuesday, May 7, 2019 in the intra-day trade.
The stock price of the airline has halved in three weeks' time, from Rs 242 (quoted on April 16), ever since the company suspended operations after the lenders turned down the airline’s demand for emergency funding.
According to a Business Standard report, London-based investment firm Adi Partners formally placed its bid for the cash-starved Jet Airways on Wednesday.
The company, which is led by Sanjay Viswanathan, former chief executive officer of Bangalore-based mid-cap information technology (IT) firm Sonata Software, said it was willing to tie up with Abu-Dhabi-based Etihad Airways for the bid, added report. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL REPORT
The airline, however, said in a regulatory filing that it had no information regarding the bids submitted.
"The bidding process is initiated by and managed by SBI Capital Markets Limited under a resolution plan undertaken by a consortium of domestic lenders led by State Bank of India. The Company is not involved in the bidding process and has no information with regard to same and accordingly is not in a position to comment," it said.
The company made clarification after media reports suggested that Jason Unsworth's Atmosphere Airlines has submitted expression of interest along with Naresh Goyal and 4 other companies.
At 11:21 am, Jet Airways' stock was trading 4 per cent higher at Rs 153 on the BSE. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.33 per cent at 37,681 levels. A combined 10.4 million shares have changed hands on the counter on the NSE and BSE so far.

Naresh Goyal hopes for Jet Airway's revival in letter to employees

Jet Airways' ex-Chairman Naresh Goyal has penned another emotional letter to employees, reigniting hopes of reviving the now defunct airline.
According to the letter accessed by IANS, Goyal has claimed to have made all possible sacrifices to keep the airline afloat.

The former Chairman said he hopes the bank-led resolution plan will succeed and that a successful bidder will emerge by May 10.
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"Neeta and I are anxiously hoping that there will be a positive outcome on the 10th of May 2019 as per the BLRP deadline...It is our dearest wish, like yours, to witness the blazing sun reappear from behind the dark clouds of the past weeks, on a canvas of never ending blue," read the ex-Chairman's message to Jet employees.
The letter was sent across to the airline staff by Goyal's son, Nivaan Goyal.
The Jet Airways founder noted that he made Rs 250 crore available to the banks from a group company besides pledging his shareholding in the airline to ensure the airline survived.
At the same time, he said, that the sacrifices made by the employees was nobler and bigger.
He felt pained for employees not being paid their hard-earned salaries for a couple of months.
Reminiscing on the past, Goyal said: "Each year since the past 25 years, the 5th day of May has held a special place in the hearts of each of us."
"But yesterday, our 26th anniversary was the saddest of all days, with no flights, added to which the sad coincidence that on 18th April 1993 we received our first aircraft in Mumbai, while in the early hours of the morning of 18th April 2019 we operated our last service from Amritsar to Mumbai."
Running out of funds and lenders and denied any further lifeline, Jet Airways grounded its operations on April 17.
Lenders of the airline led by state-run State Bank of India (SBI) are currently in the process of selling the airline to recover their dues of over Rs 8,400 crore.
Private equity firm TPG Capital, Indigo Partners, National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Etihad Airways are in the race to buy a stake in the grounded Jet Airways.
While these have submitted their expression of interest, industry sources claim that these bidders are yet to sign non-disclosure agreements.

Govt sees little scope for Jet Airways revival as bidders stay away: Report

The government sees little hope of a bidder emerging for debt-laden Jet Airways Ltd., two senior finance ministry officials said, even as thousands of employees plead with the government for a rescue.
Parties that had initially expressed interest in Jet, which is saddled with roughly $1.2 billion of debt, have so far failed to make firm bids to bail it out, increasing the odds that it could soon face bankruptcy proceedings.
"There is little scope in the revival of Jet," said one official, adding that if a bidder emerged, the government was still willing to return slots to the private airline which have temporarily been given to rivals.
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A second senior finance ministry official said it was only a matter of time before someone dragged Jet to the National Company Law Tribunal—the country's bankruptcy court--for recovery of dues from Jet.
It will most likely be one of Jet's creditors and not its lenders that do so, said both the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Unions have been pleading with the government to ensure the airline is rescued. Last week, in a letter to the prime minister seen by Reuters, its pilots union urged the government to intervene and speed up the bid process for the airline and stop the deregistration of its aircraft by its lessors.
ALSO READ: Bidders for Jet Airways not keen to follow up on their offers: Report
Jet had a fleet of more than 120 aircraft but more than half have been deregistered and repossessed by lessors.
India's aviation authorities have also been temporarily farming out Jet's slots to rival carriers as airfares have soared in the wake of Jet's shutdown.
Rival low-cost carriers have also been scooping up aircraft that were formerly operated by Jet from its lessors, and poaching hundreds of its pilots, cabin crew and other staffers.
The airline halted operations on April 17 after its lenders refused to provide further funds to keep it afloat.
Once India's largest private carrier, it had more than 16,000 employees and flights to dozens of international destinations.
State Bank of India (SBI) said last month that it expected bidders to submit binding bids by April 30, and to complete the sale process this month. However, bankers involved in the process told Reuters last week that no binding bids had emerged.
"The banks have been advised to wait for the formation of the next government ... before taking any decision on Jet's fate," the official told Reuters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently seeking re-election. His government has come under fire from critics and opposition parties for rising unemployment.

ALSO READ: A third of Jet pilots may have already found jobs with other airlines
Despite this, senior government officials have opposed any bailout package for the airline arguing it would increase pressure to support other failed private companies.
The government is satisfied with the handling of the Jet crisis by banks and other institutions as it has thus far not become a major election issue, the second ministry official said.
Jet's borrowings are small compared to those of other big defaulters such as Videocon and some steel companies, so lenders likely can wait for some more time before commencing bankruptcy proceedings, the official said.
An official at ICICI Bank, which has to recover over 5.4 billion rupees ($78.17 million) from Jet, said the bank sees little chance of any recovery without the government coming up with a rescue plan.
"We largely think our money in Jet is gone," he said.

No takers for Jet Airways yet, staff consider bankruptcy proceedings

Potential bidders for Jet Airways Ltd have so far failed to show any firm interest in bailing out the struggling airline, a source involved in the matter said, increasing the likelihood that the company will face bankruptcy proceedings.
Jet, once India's largest private airline, was forced to stop all flight operations on April 17 after its lenders declined to extend more funds to keep the carrier going.

"Companies that had submitted initial expressions of interest are not following up with binding bids," said the source.
A second source involved in the process said bidders had until May 10 to come up with binding offers, a few days later than the April 30 date indicated by lead lender State Bank of India (SBI) last month.
Both sources, speaking on Thursday, declined to be identified because the talks are not public.
Jet, saddled with roughly $1.2 billion of bank debt, and SBI did not respond to emails seeking comment.
The Indian civil aviation regulator has said that lessors have already requested the return of more than half of Jet's fleet of about 115 aircraft, with the carrier voluntarily returning some of those.
Jet's shares closed down 12 percent, having earlier fallen more than 20 percent to their lowest in a decade.
Closer to bankruptcy court
Employees of the company have said they have not been paid for months and plan to take the airline to India's bankruptcy court (NCLT), a process allowed under Indian law.
"Right now we're more worried about the bidding deadline," said a Jet Airways pilot. "We will obviously have to take it to NCLT and (go through) with the proceedings," he added.
As funds ran out, Jet also struggled to pay vendors and employees.
"In the last four or five months, payments became highly erratic," Vispi Patel, an executive at Weizmann Forex, which counts Jet as a client, said.
Patel said Jet had failed to respond to its calls and emails and as a result the FX company had reclaimed money from some forex cards issued to pilots and cabin crew for international trips.
Sources told Reuters that Jet's lenders had not yet made a decision on whether to push for bankruptcy, but industry experts said dragging the airline through the NCLT might be counter productive.
"If there are no bidders through this process, then the airline will shut," analyst Vijayant Gupta of Edelweiss Securities said. "Lenders have no incentive to take Jet to the bankruptcy court because there are no hard assets to liquidate." The Economic Times reported that Jet's management has met executives from Mahindra, Adani, Tata group and Reliance Industries in the last two weeks regarding a rescue, but none of the conglomerates have responded positively.
Those companies either did not respond to emails seeking comments, or declined to.

A third of Jet pilots may have already found jobs with other airlines

As many as 600, or a third, of Jet Airways pilots have reportedly already found jobs with other airlines even as the National Aviator's Guild (NAG), which represents pilots of the grounded carrier, requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expedite the binding bid date for the airline's stake to "preserve" enterprise value of the airline.
In the last few months right before Jet went bust, about 250 pilots resigned, bringing down its pilot strength to 1,350 from 1,600. Of the 250 pilots, over 100 pilots have applied for jobs in overseas companies like Qatar Airways, Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, etc. Private low-cost carrier IndiGo is hiring more than 100 Boeing 737 commander level pilots, majorly those exiting the cash strapped Jet Airways.
Of the remaining 1,350 pilots, almost 100 have been hired by the Tatas-Singapore Airline-run Vistara, while budget carrier SpiceJet has hired another 100 pilots from Jet. However, the low-cost airline is hiring Jet Airways pilots at much lower pay than their current compensation.
Media reports also said that Air India and its low-cost arm Air India Express are in the process of hiring 250 Jet pilots for its Boeing 737 planes. However, the Air India pilots' union Indian Pilots' Guild (IPG) has urged the management to hire just Boeing 777 (B-777) rated co-pilots on contractual basis instead of hiring costly captains, as it will be a brutal waste of money. Apart from Jet Airways, only Air India Express and SpiceJet operate Boeing fleets in domestic routes.
The grounding of Jet has come as an opportunity for the market to hire a readily-available skilled workforce from the licensed categories and deploy them directly into specifics roles, thereby saving time and money on training them.
After unsuccessfully looking for an investor or fresh bank loans for months, Jet Airways had finally on April 17 stopped operations, leaving over 22,000 employees in the lurch. The Jet employees are now facing stress over employment, while some are also hopeful of a turnaround of the carrier. Under such circumstances, the staff might have to either shift base to Tier-2 or Tier-3 cities or accept job offers having lower compensation, say experts.

Foreign carriers eye quick windfall, opportunity as Jet Airways crumbles

The grounding of India's Jet Airways is turning into a quick windfall and long-term opportunity for international airlines keen to scoop up nearly a million outbound passengers from what was once the nation's biggest airline.
Jet, which previously had a fleet of around 120 largely Boeing Co planes, was forced to indefinitely halt all flight operations on April 17 after its banks rejected the carrier's plea for emergency funds.
The carrier's descent into crisis has benefited international airlines in the form of rising fares and demand, data showed.
Fares from India to cities such as Dubai, London, New York, Singapore and Bali in the first quarter of 2019 rose between 4 per cent and 32 per cent from a year ago, according to Indian travel portal MakeMyTrip Ltd.
In the peak travel months of May and June, fares to London have spiked as much as 36 percent and tickets to San Francisco are up nearly 20 percent from a year ago, according to data from travel portal Yatra.com.
"For the next three months it's actually bonanza time for international players," said Ashish Nainan, a research analyst at CARE Ratings. "At least until the middle of June, the fares are not going to come down."
ALSO READ: Jet tells travel agents it will validate ticket refund claims in 45 days
Due to rising demand, even before Jet's lessors grounded planes, carriers such as British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, Singapore Airlines Ltd and United Airlines saw an up to a 27 per cent increase in passenger numbers from India in the last quarter of 2018, data from India's aviation regulator showed. That is the latest period for which the data is available.
India is one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets, clocking 15-20 per cent domestic growth in recent years.
It has long had only two full-service long-haul carriers, state-run Air India and Jet.
Jet is now hoping to be bailed out by a new investor, with final bids due on May 10.
INCREASING CAPACITY
Before its grounding, Jet had the biggest share of India's outbound international air traffic, carrying 12 per cent of the 7.8 million passengers headed overseas in the Oct-Dec quarter, down from 14 per cent a year earlier, data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation showed.
The total number of passengers travelling overseas with Jet fell 10 per cent during the last quarter of 2018 even as the outbound travel market grew about 5 per cent.
Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines posted a 27 per cent increase in passengers from India, Cathay registered 17 per cent growth and British Airways saw a 10 per cent rise in the same period.
ALSO READ: HC to hear plea for refund, alternative flights to Jet passengers next week
Cathay said the events at Jet combined with increasing demand for travel had led it to deploy larger aircraft with more seats on some Indian routes.
"In the long term we would certainly like to be able to offer more capacity into India, not just on our existing routes but by establishing new services to secondary cities," Cathay said in a statement.
Singapore Airlines, in an email to Reuters, said the Indian market is "very promising" but declined to give details of airfare levels or demand patterns in the wake of Jet's exit, citing a quiet period before the release of its annual results.
DOMESTIC GAINS
Jet's grounding has also had a big impact on the domestic market, with inter-city air fares to major cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata soaring more than 20 per cent in May and June, according to Yatra.com.
The spike in fares is expected to underpin strong earnings for IndiGo and SpiceJet Ltd, which are set to report results for the quarter ended March 31 in the coming weeks.
"Domestic Indian carriers are the main benefactors, but I suspect if Jet fails to be revived by May 10 then Vistara and other airlines that ply international routes, particularly the lucrative Gulf market, are the main winners," said Shukor Yusof, the head of aviation consultancy Endau Analytics. Vistara is a joint venture of India's Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines.
Inadequate bilateral traffic rights between India and other countries, however, could be an impediment to foreign carriers' hopes of winning business lost by Jet, some analysts said.
"Even before Jet's operational shutdown, international capacity was significantly constrained," said Kapil Kaul, CEO for South Asia of consultancy CAPA. "We have now more serious capacity challenge ... this is unlikely to be stabilised in the near term."
A new national government likely to be in place sometime after elections end in May is expected to address the international capacity constraints, and once bilateral agreements are eased airlines including Emirates, Turkish and Qatar would immediately benefit, said Kaul.
"We would love to add more flights but we are at the limit of the allocation granted to us for traffic rights," Emirates Chief Commercial Officer Thierry Antinori told reporters in Dubai on Wednesday.

Jet Airways issues gag order, asks employees not to speak with media

The grounded Jet Airways has issued a gag order to its employees advising them to refrain from speaking with external stakeholders.
An internal mail accessed by IANS suggests that talking with external stakeholders especially the media might impact the bidding process for airline's stake sale.

"We are currently at a critical stage of our bid process that is being led by our lenders. We urge you to refrain from engaging with the media and let the task of interaction with external stakeholders (especially the media) be restricted to our colleagues at corporate communication team," the mail sent late on Thursday said.
Faced with delay in payments of salaries and prospect of joblessness, hundreds of airline employees had gathered on Thursday at the Jantar Mantar to voice their concerns and appeal to the government to intervene for revival of the company.
The staff from across various departments, including engineering, maintenance, guest relations and security had participated in the demonstrations.
The Jet Airways had late on Wednesday suspended its operations indefinitely.
The airline's revival now depends on successful stake sale initiated by the lenders led by the State Bank of India (SBI).
In an official statement, the airline lenders led by the SBI has said that they were 'reasonably hopeful' that the stake sale process would succeed and determine fair value of the enterprise.
As per industry sources, private equity firms TPG Capital, Indigo Partners and the NIIF and Etihad Airways were in the race to buy a stake in the grounded carrier.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Jet Airways saga: 2 grounded airlines in a decade cast doubt on India boom

Jet Airways, the second local carrier to ground its entire fleet in the past decade, is casting a shadow on India’s booming aviation sector.
Once the nation’s biggest airline by market value, Jet Airways’ shares nosedived by a record 31 percent on Thursday in Mumbai after saying it would suspend operations on a “temporary” basis as it ran out of money. A severe cash crunch had pushed Vijay Mallya’s indebted Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. to ground its planes in 2012. It never flew again and Mallya is still fighting his extradition to India from London.

India’s aviation sector is an investment conundrum: it’s the world’s fastest-growing aviation market that has seen 54 consecutive months of double-digit percentage passenger growth and yet it’s notoriously difficult to make money in. As Jet Airways’ lenders race to find an investor for the debt-ravaged airline, suitors will weigh the sector’s prospects against India’s high jet-fuel prices and a crushing fare war worsened by the entry of no-frills carriers.
“It’s a terrible setback for the entire industry. This makes the whole aviation story look doubtful,” said Parvez Damania, a Mumbai-based aviation expert. “Grounding of Jet Airways has impacted the credibility of double-digit growth of Indian civil aviation.”
The crisis at Jet Airways that risks 23,000 jobs, has come at an exceptionally sensitive time for Prime Minister Narendra Modi who’s seeking re-election in ongoing national elections, amid concerns on rising unemployment. The Modi administration has in the past few years cracked down hard on India’s delinquent borrowers to repair the books of banks that currently have the world’s worst soured loan ratio.
“Since no emergency funding from the lenders or any other source is forthcoming, the airline will not be able to pay for fuel or other critical services to keep the operations going,” the carrier said in an April 17 statement. “With immediate effect, Jet Airways is compelled to cancel all its international and domestic flights.”
The carrier added that the decision was taken after a painstaking evaluation of all alternatives, with the ministries of civil aviation and finance and the aviation safety regulator informed in advance. It’ll continue to support a bid process initiated by lenders and that it aims to return to flying “as soon as possible.” That mechanism is due to conclude on May 10.
‘Reasonably Hopeful’
State Bank of India, on behalf of all Jet’s lenders, said in a Thursday statement that they had decided that “the best way forward for the survival of the carrier is to get the binding bids from potential investors” who were interested. Lenders are “reasonably hopeful” that the bid process is likely to be successful in determining a fair value for the carrier, it said.
Lenders have asked the government to protect Jet’s prime airport slots to prevent an erosion of its value, Business Standard reported on Friday, citing sources it didn’t name.
The banks are said to have shortlisted Etihad Airways PJSC, India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and private equity firms TPG Capital and Indigo Partners, people familiar with the discussions said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
Potential investors in the beleaguered airline have asked lenders to take a haircut of as much as 80 percent on Jet’s debt, The Economic Times reported, citing unnamed sources.
Jet’s financial problems are not new, according to Dharmesh Kant, head of retail research at Mumbai-based Indianivesh Securities Ltd. “It had been kicking the can down the road but sooner or later the time had to run out and it did,” he said over phone.
Jet, which broke the monopoly of state-run Air India Ltd. in the early 1990s, has been in decline since budget airlines started offering ultra-low fares that hurt profits and led it to pile up more than $1 billion in debt. It also has unpaid dues to aircraft-leasing firms and employees including pilots, who have been agitating over non-payment of salaries.
Jet’s founder Naresh Goyal resigned as chairman of the ailing airline last month, caving in to pressure from creditors. Goyal, who started in aviation as a ticketing agent, rose to be among the nation’s elite after Jet became India’s premier full service carrier.
It won’t be an easy task for Jet’s new owner to turnaround the airline, which has reported losses for four straight quarters and in nine out of 11 last financial years. Grounding the airline means its value is going to erode further, making the revival tougher for any suitor.
“With no aircraft, pilots, flight attendants and engineers, I certainly don’t see how any bidder will continue to see value in Jet Airways,” said Mark D Martin, founder of Martin Consulting. “History and our business dynamics prove that once an airline shuts down in India, it doesn’t restart.”
Dirt-Cheap Fares
Indian carriers, including Jet, have seen their profits hurt by the world’s highest jet-fuel taxes and a price war worsened by the entry of low-cost, no-frills airlines such as IndiGo and SpiceJet Ltd. that offered dirt-cheap fares with lower overheads.
Foreign carriers from Malaysia’s low-cost AirAsia Group Bhd. to Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Jet’s minority shareholder Etihad, have all learnt how hard it is to make money in Indian skies.
Air India, the state carrier, has been propped up on bailouts from the exchequer for years. AirAsia, which entered in 2014 with a vow to break even in four months, is still nowhere close to its goal. Vistara, Singapore Air’s joint venture with the Tata Group that started in 2015, has yet to make any money. SpiceJet had almost collapsed in 2014.
The only exception in the sector is Indigo, run by Interglobe Aviation Ltd., which has reported annual profits since 2011 and whose stock has soared 33 percent this year. Spicejet, which has been on the mend, has also advanced as it leases more aircraft and starts more flights on the New Delhi-Mumbai route.
Air fares are expected to rise in the coming weeks, possibly denting the passenger growth story that was making India the world’s quickest-growing aviation market. Jet’s decision to stop flying will also push the fares higher.
Jet’s lenders could have done a bit more to keep the carrier up in the air, if only to preserve the value of the asset they have put on the block, according to Martin. “To think that no money was pumped in to resolve liabilities of lessors, fuelers and salaries is unforgiving,” he said.

Rivals see runways of opportunity as Jet Airways suspends operations

The suspension of Jet Airways flights has opened new opportunities for competition such as Air India, SpiceJet, IndiGo and AirAsia India. These airlines are ready to fill in the gap, especially in metros, by adding flights both to international and domestic destinations.
Air India chief Ashwani Lohani, for instance, has offered to take five grounded B 777s of Jet on wet or dry lease, it is learnt. Lohani sent across the offer to State Bank of India chairman Rajnish Kumar, who’s heading the resolution process for Jet, in a communication dated April 17, as soon it was clear that the Naresh Goyal-founded airline was getting grounded. Lohani has expressed the wish to take the aircraft on lease, “subject to approvals and financial viability”, to fly them to international destinations where Jet had substantial capacity. Air India is looking at adding flights to London from both Delhi and Mumbai, a route where fares have soared recently. Also on the horizon are additional flights to Dubai and Singapore. Lohani could not be contacted for comment.

SpiceJet too announced on Thursday that it was launching 24 new flights connecting Mumbai and Delhi with other cities in the country. Of these, 16 will connect Mumbai (apart from the six it announced last week and which started operations on Thursday) and four Delhi. The rest will connect the two metros with each other. The airline had recently announced direct flights from Mumbai to Dubai, Hong Kong, Riyadh and Bangkok among other international routes.

It has also approached the government for a no objection certificate for 22 additional aircraft it’s taking on dry lease.
According to aviation sources, SpiceJet has received 16 slots while AirAsia India has got eight in Mumbai. In Delhi, out of the 200 slots, the airport has given out around 50 to Jet’s competitors.
ALSO READ: In a bid to attract buyers, banks ask govt to protect Jet's prime slots
IndiGo, the largest airline in the country by passengers, is putting in additional 20 flights from Mumbai in a phased manner. It already has over 97 domestic and five international slots in Mumbai.
Now, it has 20 more in the Mumbai airport. While it did not comment on the slots, the IndiGo spokesperson said, “we are happy with our current order stream of 430 A320 Neos, of which we have already taken delivery of 74 aircraft till April 17 2019”.
Indicating a significant upside for listed carriers, SpiceJet shares surged over 39 per cent from April 1 (as per Thursday’s closing price).
ALSO READ: Real estate firm owner comes to Jet employees rescue, offers jobs
IndiGo saw its share price zoom 9.7 per cent, while Jet Airways plunged 38 per cent in the same period. Aviation regulator DGCA has been offering temporary slots to airlines till July 15 so that they can utilise those of Jet, especially in Mumbai.
So far, Jet has been the biggest player in Mumbai, controlling over 110 domestic and 30 international slots at the airport. In a meeting with airlines, DGCA has said that priority for slots will be given to new aircraft and airlines.
ALSO READ: Jet Airways crisis: Paying lessors, banks a challenge for new owner
It has also advised prudent handling of things while moving existing planes from one route to another. According to estimates, airlines have already been earmarked over 50 slots in Mumbai by DGCA to partly take care of the demand.
Some have also been pushing the government to allow a temporary window for foreign carriers. The idea is to add capacity during the peak May-July season for international travel. An aviation expert said, “It has been done earlier during festival seasons, when demand is higher than supply, and it should be done now so that passengers don’t suffer.”

'Can't sleep at night': Jet employees in despair as airline goes bust

Bhoja Poojari has handled baggage for India's Jet Airways Ltd since it began flying nearly 26 years ago. Now, like many other Jet employees, he fears for the future as the debt-laden airline descends into crisis.
"If this continues, I do not know what to do," said the 53-year-old father of two, who has not been paid in nearly two months and may be forced to sell his house.
"I feel like my hands are tied and I can't sleep at night," said Poojari. "I haven't told my children anything. They are very young, but they know something is wrong." Thousands of employees have been stung by the rapid unravelling of Jet Airways, which, saddled with more than $1.2 billion in bank debt, grounded all its planes on Wednesday after lenders rejected a plea for emergency funds.
The shutdown has deepened the crisis as dues to lessors, staff and suppliers pile up and lenders scramble to find a buyer for what was once India's largest private airline.
Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube told employees on Wednesday that the sale would take time and could throw up more challenges, but he was confident the airline would fly again.
Failure would threaten more than 16,000 staff jobs and thousands more tied to the airline, which at its peak operated over 120 planes and more than 600 daily flights.
More than a dozen employees told Reuters they had gone two to four months without pay. Many grapple with unpaid bills, overdue home loans, school and tuition fees.
"We have stopped going out for movies, to restaurants or any other form of entertainment," said a Jet engineer, who is self-tutoring his children after cancelling private tuitions.
He is listed as a defaulter in his community for failing to meet his building maintenance fee payments. "It's a huge stigma for my family," he said, declining to be named.
'Save our family'
Hundreds of angry employees have protested in New Delhi and Mumbai, accusing management of leaving staff in the dark about the airline's worsening crisis.
"Management never gives us a clear picture," airline union leader Chaitanya Mainkar shouted during a protest at Mumbai's international airport on Friday where employees chanted slogans and waved posters that read "Save Jet Airways, Save Our Family." Jet pilots appealed for intervention from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is facing wider criticism over the scarcity of jobs as he campaigns for re-election in polls now underway.
Last month, Modi asked state-run banks to rescue Jet Airways without pushing it into bankruptcy, averting thousands of job losses. But the airline never received the agreed stop-gap loan of about $217 million.
ALSO READ: Jet grounded: Spare a thought for employees as over 20000 jobs are at stake
"At least now we know the talks about caring for employment, creating jobs is all an eyewash," Captain Asim Valiani, vice president of the National Aviator's Guild representing Jet pilots, told Reuters after the shutdown.
"I've been with Jet for 23 years and am shattered today. I don't know what I will tell our pilots," he said, adding the guild would take the airline to court to seek unpaid wages.
Murky future
Jet Airways has lost key employees as the crisis unfolded.
About 400 pilots have moved to other airlines, leaving Jet with about 1,300 pilots, said a senior Jet pilot. About 40 engineers have also left, a senior engineer said.
Some veteran employees remain loyal to the airline and hope it can be restored to its former glory.
"I have worked here from the beginning - first day, first show," said Anil Sahu, a 50-year-old baggage handler with 25 years of service.
"Even after all of this, we have trust in Jet. It's a tsunami that has come, but we hope everything will return to normal," he said.
Other senior employees like Poojari say they will struggle to find work if the airline fails.

ALSO READ: Jet Airways timeline: How the 'Joy of Flying' airline's dreams soured
"If I had quit earlier there was still a chance of moving on, but after 26 years and having crossed 50 (years of age), where will I find a job?"

End of an era: Jet Airways to ground operations temporarily from tonight

Teetering for over four months due to cash-drought, Jet Airways, flying for over 25 years, Wednesday said its last flight will takeoff later this night, after its lenders refused to offer a Rs 400-crore lifeline.
"With immediate effect, we are compelled to cancel all our international and domestic flights. The last flight will operate today," Jet Airways informed the exchanges.
The airline said the decision follows the lenders refusing to offer a lifeline.
ALSO READ: Jet Airways has no option but to shut shop as banks deny lifeline yet again
"Since no emergency funding from the lenders or any other source is forthcoming, the airline will not be able to pay for fuel or other critical services to keep the operations going... and has decided to go ahead with temporary suspension of operations," the airline said.
Accordingly, the last flight will leave the Amritsar airport at 2230 hrs for New Delhi as per its flight schedule.

ALSO READ: Lessors rush to repossess more Jet planes, even as emergency funds awaited
After a board meeting Tuesday, the management had authorised chief executive Vinay Dube to make one last appeal to the lenders for an emergency Rs 400 crore funding, and if not the demand is not met, take a final call on the future of the airline Wednesday.
Late last night, Jet Airways was informed by State Bank of India, on behalf of the consortium of lenders, that they were unable to consider its request for critical interim funding, the airline said in the statement.