Jet Airways to have over 100 aircraft in 5 years; HQ will shift to Gurugram

First flight between Delhi & Mumbai in Q1 of 2022

Jet Airways will resume operations in the first quarter of 2022 and have over hundred aircraft in five years, the Kalrock-Jalan consortium said in a statement on Monday.

The airline will be headquartered in Delhi and operate its first flight on the Delhi-Mumbai route, it added.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), on June 22, approved the Kalrock-Jalan plan to revive the airline, which shut operations in April 2019. The consortium has hired around 150 employees and is in discussion with aircraft lessors. Process for revalidation of the airline’s operating certificate is under way and the consortium is also in talks with airports for night parking facilities and slots. The consortium will, however, have to seek addit­ional time from the NCLT for implementing the revival plan as the 90-day period stipulated in the June 22 order will end this month.

Also, even as the revival plan is facing a legal challenge from employee unions and Pun­jab National Bank, the consortium is confident of meeting the timeline.

“Jet Airways 2.0 aims at restarting domestic operations by Q1-2022 and short haul international operations by Q3-Q4 of 2022. Our plan is to have 50 plus aircraft in three years and over 100 aircraft in five years. This also fits perfectly well with the short-and long-term business plans of the consortium. The aircraft are being selected based on a competitive long-term leasing solution,” said Murari Lal Jalan, the consortium’s lead member. Jalan will take up the post of non-executive chairman.

“Jet Airways will now be headquartered in Delhi-NCR with its senior management working from the corporate office in Gurugram. However, Jet Airways will continue to have a strong and significant presence in Mumbai,” said acting CEO Sudhir Gaur.

The airline’s training centre will continue to function out of Mumbai. Pilots and cabin crew would have to undergo ref­resher training upon joining the airline. In the case of pilots, this includes ground classes and simulator training.

The airline is in discussion with both Airbus and Boeing and is initially looking to induct around 20 aircraft, according to industry sources.