After reports of Jet Airways' plans to return to the skies hit an air pocket, the first picture of a freshly-painted Airbus A320-271N with the airline logo emerged. The aircraft was parked at Maastricht Airport in the Netherlands.
According to multiple people familiar with the development, the picture of the Airbus aircraft with Jet Airways livery at Maastricht airport is real and the airline is likely to announce its fleet next week.
The once-storied carrier is now under the ownership of the Jalan-Kalrock consortium and its air operator certificate was revalidated by aviation regulator DGCA in May this year.
However, sources privy to the developments told CNBC-TV18 that Jet Airways is yet to sign a lease agreement, purchase agreement, and engine agreement. The airline plans to start operations with leased aircraft as the new aircraft will take time arriving, sources close to the development said.
Bloomberg News reported in late August that Jet is in advanced talks to order about 50 Airbus SE A220 aircraft. The carrier is also in discussions with Boeing Co and Airbus to potentially place a “sizeable” order for the 737 Max or A320neo families of jets.
The airline, once India’s top private carrier, is taking time on commercial negotiations but is on track for the October launch and is hiring pilots and cabin crew for both 737 MAX and A320, sources in the know told CNBC-TV18.
Jet Airways received its renewed air operator certificate (AOC) from DGCA on May 20 this year and it is planning to start commercial flight operations in September.
The airline shuttered operations in April 2019 due to financial turmoil and was later acquired by the Jalan-Kalrock consortium through the insolvency resolution process.
In October 2020, the airline's Committee of Creditors (CoC) approved the resolution plan submitted by the consortium of the UK's Kalrock Capital and the UAE-based entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan.
(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)
First Published: Sept 28, 2022 6:51 PM IST
