Jet Airways Ltd—the full-service airline which went bankrupt in 2019—could be back in the skies as early as the summer of next year as the new promoters, Murari Lal Jalan and Kalrock Capital, intend to start domestic and international operations with all the slots that were available to the airline before it stopped operations.
Also read: IndiGo to refund all passengers by 31 January for flight ticket cancellations
The new promoters contemplated starting a new airline but chose to stick to the Jet brand due to the existing brand value, connect with the customers, and important flight slots in different airports.
As per the resolution plan, Jet Airways intends to operate all of its historic domestic slots in India and restart international operations. 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, according to a statement issued by the company.
WhatsApp update: Users must agree to new privacy policy in 2021 or ‘delete account’
According to a statement from the new promoters, the consortium’s vision is “to regain the lost ground, set new benchmarks for the airline industry with the tag of being the best corporate full-service airline operating on domestic and international routes”.
It said Jet 2.0 hubs will remain in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru like before. “The revival plan proposes to support Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities by creating sub-hubs in such cities. This would boost the economy in these cities, help Jet Airways stand back on its feet fast, and support the overall vision of the government to promote aviation business through Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in India,” the statement said.
On April 17, 2019, Jet Airways ceased all operations as it ran out of cash. The statement said the consortium had evaluated the option of starting a new airline but some of the inherent strengths of Jet Airways like the optimal flight slots, brand value, and reputation for best-in-class inflight service and safety, giving Jet 2.0 an edge over others, were too tempting to resist.
Mean-while, India recorded 26,567 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of active coronavirus cases in the country to 3,83,866, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday. With 39,045 new recoveries, the number of overall recovered COVID-19 patients stands at 91,78,946, pushing the recovery rate to 94.59 percent.
The overall COVID-19 cases reached 967,03,770, including 3,83,866 active cases and 91,78,946 recoveries. With 385 new deaths, the casualties mounted to 1,40,958.
Bharat Biotech, the Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical firm that has been developing coronavirus vaccine Covaxin, on Monday said that it had applied to the central drug regulator seeking emergency use authorization.
