The newly reinstated Jet Airways has identified three A320 Neo and two B737-8 MAX airplanes for its initial fleet. The airline is in the process of signing lease agreements, according to sources. The relaunch, which was initially scheduled for September, looks likely to be delayed beyond October.
After collapsing and shutting shop in 2019 due to crippling debt, the airline was taken over by a consortium of Dubai-based businessman Murari Lal Jalan, and Florian Fritsch, chairman of London-based financial services firm Kalrock Capital Management Ltd. While there is no official communication on the fleet structure, an Airbus A320neo aircraft is likely to be the first to join the airline's fleet. Airbus has reportedly listed one A320neo under Jet Airways' name in its monthly report. The plane with Jet Airways' logo was spotted at Maastricht Airport. "The picture of Airbus aircraft with Jet Airways' branding is real", a source confirmed.
Sources had also said that the airline is hiring pilots and cabin crew for both Airbus and Boeing planes.
In a statement to CNBC-TV18 on September 27, the airline said, "We are very close to finalizing our initial fleet plan in preparation for opening for sale soon and restart of operations in the coming weeks. There is no 'deadline'; target dates are set by us alone, and we have always maintained that this is a marathon, not a sprint. We had said we were targeting to launch by October 2022, and we are tracking quite close to that."
As reported on September 28, sources had told CNBC-TV18, the airline was planning to start operations with leased aircraft as new orders are yet to be placed.
CNBC-TV18 has reached out to Jet Airways and a response is awaited at the time of this writing.
First Published: Oct 11, 2022 3:00 PM IST
