INTERNATIONAL airlines are set to boost their business following the grounding India’s cash crunch hit airline Jet Airways.
The crisis-hit airline was forced to indefinitely halt all its on April 17 indefinitely after its lenders rejected a plea for emergency funds to keep the airline flying.
According to the data from India’s aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the total number of passengers moving foreign countries with Jet Airways fell 10 per cent during the last quarter of 2018 when outbound travel recorded a steep growth.
Singapore Airlines recorded a 27 per cent jump in passengers from India, followed by Cathay which recorded 17 per cent growth, and British Airways witnessed a 10 per cent rise in the three month period ended in December.
During the peak travel months of May and June, air fares to London during May-June period last year were climbed as much as 36 per cent. The grounding of the airline is expected to push the air fares this year also.
Shukor Yusof, the head of aviation consultancy Endau Analytics was quoted in Reuters: “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,”
Jet Airways has bank debts of £928 million. It has also defaulted on salary payments to its employees and lessors.
The Indian carrier said it plans to restart its all domestic and international services even though lessors have repossessed its many aircraft and many staff members have quit the airline to join other companies.
The troubled airline, is now expecting to be bailed out by a new investor, with final bids due on May 10.
