A resurgent SpiceJet is spreading its wings and Vistara is set to challenge Jet on long-haul routes in the coming years.
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed new airline Akasa is in talks with US aerospace company Boeing for buying up to 100 737 Max aircraft. Former Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube and his family members are promoters while ex-IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh is a board member of the airline. The airline is in negotiation with Boeing and has reached out to the government to recertify the aircraft which has been grounded since 2018 after two crashes killing 349 persons, according to sources in the know.
"Airlines in India like Jet Airways and Air India have firm orders with Boeing for delivery till the year 2011. Now they are planning beyond that in view of expected market growth," said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice-president (sales), Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The DGCA has asked airlines to inspect the fuel switch locking system in their Boeing 787 and 737 planes after a preliminary probe report into the Air India crash found that the switches were cut off before the accident.
'In the inspections, no issues were found with the said locking mechanism.'
Jet Airways has complained to India's aviation regulator about the use of its livery on SpiceJet aircraft, saying the practice could "mislead the public" and is a safety hazard. Jet collapsed in 2019 and lessors repossessed its Boeing 737s. Some of these aircraft were leased to SpiceJet, which operates them without changing the livery. Jet, which is now being revived by the Kalrock Jalan consortium and aims to restart operations in September, has asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to ask SpiceJet to stop using its livery.
This is an increase from a Boeing forecast last year of 1,450 new airplanes worth $175 billion.
An official of the aviation regulator DGCA had said that the pilots aborted the take off after they were informed about a 'barrier' on the runway
Though a formal purchase agreement with Boeing is yet to be signed, SpiceJet's order size could be of 40-50 planes, a source familiar with the development said. At list price, a 737 Max aircraft is valued at about $100 million (Rs 620 crore).
Ace Aviation, which has been fighting Jet Airways for the acquisition of three Boeing B777 aircraft, said that it has acquired another aircraft for the conversion slot in early February 2025.
Jet Airways is looking to lease around 20 Airbus A320 aircraft from lessors by 2024 as it aims to restart operations and fly international routes in the next one-and-a-half years. Jet's A320 aircraft fleet, according to sources, will be a mix of the Ceo and the more fuel-efficient Neo variants. These planes were originally intended for Russian airlines but could not be delivered following western sanctions on Russia over its Ukraine invasion.
Last year, Boeing upgraded the cabin of its Boeing 737 with new features such as LED lighting, bigger overhead bins and new ceiling panels.
The aircraft are scheduled to be delivered between October 2012 and December 2014 subject to regulatory approvals, the company said in a filing to Bombay Stock Exchange.
To take delivery of 50 from 2017 and in talks to lease five Airbus planes to Kuwait Airways.
The first hurdle is how long Jet Airways can enjoy rights over its parking slots at various airports.
The airlines is in talks with Oman Air and Etihad.
Public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) has moved the Insolvency appellate tribunal NCLAT against the approval of bids for defunct airline Jet Airways. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) bench has issued a notice over the PNB's petition along with its interim plea seeking a stay over the execution of the resolution plan. A three-member bench has directed the Resolution Professional of Jet Airways along with other parties including the Committee of Creditors to file a reply within two weeks and rejoinder, if by PNB, within one week.
Weeks before shutting down operations on April 17, a logistics vendor had taken possession of a Jet aircraft--a Boeing 777--at the Amsterdam airport for non-payment of dues.
The flying licence of the two pilots was suspended and a probe launched into the accident.
At least 20 to 30 departures are being cancelled daily from metros and key airports including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
However, while the capacity void in the domestic market has been filled, a vacuum still remains in international connectivity, especially on the India-Europe and onwards route, which was well connected by Jet Airways via the Boeing 777, Airbus A330 aircraft and its hubs in Paris and Amsterdam.
Turkish Airlines is the national airline of Turkey and has already taken four Boeing 777 aircraft on lease from Jet Airways.
If all goes well, then every single employee of Jet Airways will become an owner of the airline.
With full-service carrier Jet Airways and budget airline SpiceJet operating 737 MAX planes, the DGCA has decided to seek information about the aircraft from Boeing as well as the two domestic carriers in view of the air crash in Ethiopia.
Etihad said it declined to lodge an EoI to reinvest in Jet Airways because of unresolved issues concerning the airline's liabilities.
The airline will reconfigure its planes to add business class seats in its low-cost service
Private carrier Jet Airways on Monday launched daily flights between Mumbai and Raipur.
Jet and Etihad stand to benefit from cost savings and synergies in areas such as fleet acquisition, maintenance and training.
Jet Airways plans to increase capacity on international routes by reconfiguring existing aircraft and adding new ones.
While media reports suggested that Tata-Singapore Airlines is looking at an all-stock merger of Jet, Tatas, in a statement said, discussions to take over Jet Airways have been preliminary and no proposal has been made
Boeing 737 MAX planes were globally grounded in March 2019, after two of these crashed within five months, raising safety concerns.
The bankruptcy tribunal had on July 5, prevented the Directorate General of Civil Aviation from deregistering the Boeing 777 plane, which has been under the possession of a Dutch cargo provider since April.
JetLite, which was acquired by Jet Airways for Rs 1,450 crore, is operating three of its seven Canadian-built Bombardier airplanes. JetLite has a total 24 aircraft, including Boeing B737s.
Passengers holding confirmed RT tickets on Jet Airways will be allowed to avail special stranded passenger fares from the destinations common with Air India.
Continuing its focus on low cost model of operations, private carrier Jet Airways will shift 45 flights to its no-frill service brand Jet Airways Konnect by October.
Jet has already confirmed an order for 50 737-MAX planes together with up to 10 777-300ERS from Boeing.
India's aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday lifted the ban on Boeing 737 Max planes' commercial flight operations after almost two-and-half years. On March 13, 2019, all Boeing 737 Max planes were grounded in India by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max plane on March 10 near Addis Ababa which had left 157 people, including four Indians, dead. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has been modifying the 737 Max plane since March 2019 so that various countries' regulators, including the DGCA, permit its passenger flight operations again.
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