The situation is tense for Jet AirwaysIndia's second largest airline, which has been flirting with bankruptcy for several months. In fact, the company is losing money, a lot of money, with a debt which now stands at one billion dollars. As a result, creditors are beginning to come forward, notably airports and aircraft leasing companies. As for the pilots, they are threatening to stop work at the end of March, having not been paid for six weeks.
Once again, in this turmoil, we find the Abu Dhabi company Etihadwhich is itself facing a difficult financial crisis by accumulating losses over the last three years. Etihad has decided not to make any further financial contributions to Jet Airways, despite earlier promises. The carrier has even announced that it finally wants to sell its 24% stake, after dragging its feet for two months over a possible equity investment...
The Indian government does not want a bankruptcy before the elections
The Indian government has therefore stepped in to convince the banks to find a solution for the company by buying back some of its debt and converting it into shares in the carrier. The banks are reluctant because they would like to see the Chairman of Jet Airways, Naresh GoyalThe Indian banks want Goyal to sell its shares in Jet Airways. The Indian banks want Goyal to sell his shares in Jet Airways, retaining only 10% and no management rights. The Chairman is refusing for the time being. Naresh Goyal currently owns 51% of the shares...
Already struggling to find a private shareholder for the national carrier Air India, the Indian government cannot, just a few weeks before elections, see the collapse of an airline that employs 23,000 people... Not only is the government putting pressure on Indian banks, but it has also asked the low-cost airline Air India to find a private shareholder. Spicejet to step up to the plate by leasing part of its competitor's fleet.
Jet Airways should nevertheless continue to operate, as the Chairman of the Indian Central Bank has ruled out the possibility of the company simply going bankrupt, as reported in the media.
What are the current risks for French business passengers on Jet Airways? It's mainly a network problem. Flights on Amsterdam and Paris, where Jet Airways operates in code-share with Air France-KLM, are not affected. Nor are the four daily frequencies to London Heathrow (three to Mumbai and one to Delhi); the long-haul aircraft belong de facto to Jet Airways. "Jet Airways owns 10 Boeing 777-300ERs, so the impact on European flights is minimal."a company employee recently told the Indian media.
Fluctuation on domestic and regional networks
On the other hand, the changes are more drastic on the domestic and Asian networks, as well as on services. With just 41 aircraft instead of 120 last year, the airline now offers just 140 daily flights, compared with 650 daily frequencies last year. The network has therefore been drastically reduced. The airline has cancelled most of its Middle East routes, keeping only a handful of flights to Doha, Dubai and Kuwait. It has also suspended all its flights to Abu Dhabi, despite the fact that it is a hub with Etihad.
It has also discontinued its services to Hong Kong and reduced its flights to the United States from three to once a day. Bangkok and Singapore. The airline has also suspended its Bangalore-Singapore flights. In Europe, the Mumbai-Manchester route has simply disappeared.
On the domestic network, the situation is complex. The Indian daily The Hindu reported on Thursday that the airline had significantly reduced its network from Delhi to the rest of India, with the exception of routes to Mumbai.
On Thursday, Jet had cancelled 73 out of 117 departures from Mumbai. In Delhi, 75 out of 106 flights were cancelled. In Chennai, the airline cancelled 16 out of 20 flights, and in Bangalore only three out of 29 flights were operated. The problem is that these cancellations are often made less than 24 hours before departure...
Another important change for business passengers: payment disputes with the airport authorities in Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad mean that lounges are no longer accessible to premium passengers, unless they decide to pay for their use. On board, meal services have been withdrawn on domestic routes.
However, it should be noted that Jet Airways operates all its flights to Paris or Amsterdam. Especially as a large proportion of European passengers travelling to India have Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore as their final destination...
