Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Cash Crunch Hit India’s Jet Airways Forced To Ground Four Planes: Report

AIRCRAFT belonging to Jet Airways are being grounded in a row over mounting dues, a report said today (29).

Four or five aircraft have been grounded at airports across India on Monday (28), forcing the airline to cancel about 20 flights, the report said. Jet Airways' Boeing 737 planes were were grounded at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai airports as lessors started a repossession process.


The  airline has been in talks with stakeholders, lenders, and others over the issue of sorting out delay in payment following a severe cash crunch.

Jet Airways is yet to disclose how many of its 123 aircraft fleet are operational.

Last week, Etihad Airways appointed turnaround specialist Alvarez & Marsal to conduct due diligence on Jet Airways as it weighed bailing out the cash-strapped Indian carrier, three sources familiar with the matter said.

Executives from Alvarez & Marsal are camped in Jet Airways' offices in Mumbai and are taking stock of the airline's operations and looking into its financial health and records, a source said.

The Abu Dhabi-based carrier plans to raise its stake in Jet Airways from the current 24 per cent but it wants the airline's founder and chairman Naresh Goyal to give up control, sources said.

"Alvarez & Marsal are restructuring consultants. If they are there it means they are looking for stuff to cut," said a second person who is familiar with the matter.

An Etihad spokeswoman declined to comment. Alvarez & Marsal did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Jet Airways did not respond to an email seeking comment but said last week it is in talks with lenders to resolve its debt problems. It is seeking a cash injection by stakeholders and will make board changes.

Jet Airways, which controls a sixth of India's booming aviation market, desperately needs a bailout. High fuel taxes, a weak rupee and price competition have squeezed profitability, leaving the airline with net debt of $1.13 billion.

Earlier in January it defaulted on a debt payment to a consortium of banks, led by State Bank of India (SBI), prompting ratings agency ICRA to downgrade the carrier.

The airline also owes money to employees, vendors and lessors - some of whom are considering taking back aircraft, sources told Reuters.

More For You

Black Friday sales

Consumer confidence climbed slightly in October, with more shoppers planning big purchases ahead of Black Friday.

Getty Images

UK shoppers feel more confident ahead of Black Friday sales

Highlights

  • Consumer confidence rose two points to -17 in October.
  • More people planning big purchases, up nine points from last year.
  • UK shoppers have €30,486 spending power per person, sixth highest in Europe.

Shoppers turn hopeful

Britons are feeling more positive about spending money as Black Friday approaches, new figures show, though many are nervous about what the upcoming budget might bring.

Consumer confidence climbed slightly in October, according to the GfK Consumer Confidence Barometer. The biggest change was in people’s willingness to buy expensive items like TVs, furniture and kitchen appliances.

Keep ReadingShow less