Jalan-Kalrock in discussions to order 200 aircraft for Jet Airways

The Jalan-Kalrock consortium is planning to order 200 aircraft. The development has come in the wake of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) decision, in which it declined to halt the ownership transfer as requested by the lenders, according to a report by Mint.

The official announcement of the order may come around June, people familiar with the matter said. They did not want to be named.

The report quoted one of the people aware of the development as saying, "Jalan-Kalrock is in talks with aircraft OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to place an order of at least 200 planes of a mix of small, medium, and large narrow body jets at the Paris airshow in June for their growth plan for five years."

The airline wants to maintain a fleet that allows them to tap the market opportunity in India. Earlier, the airline had indicated that it would place a large order and was considering buying planes from Airbus and Boeing. However, they could not proceed with the orders, thanks to the opposition from lenders.

Aviation industry experts have said that ordering and maintaining large aircraft is key to an airline's long-term strategy, the report said. The development is interesting given the rising air traffic in the country.

The 200 aircraft order from Jet Airways will further strengthen the growth potential of the Indian aviation market. Reportedly, Air India placed a record-breaking order of 470 aircraft. Indigo is also in discussions to order 500 aircraft. Additionally, Akasa placed an order for 72 aircraft in November 2021. However, it updated its decision and is now preparing to place a "three-digit" order by the end of 2023, the report said. Currently, India has 500 registered aircraft that operate commercial flights in the country.