Jet Airways in talks to lease up to eight jets before December

New Delhi-based airline Jet Airways is in talks with aircraft manufacturers and lessors regarding opportunities to expand its fleet with up to eight aircraft as the carrier prepares to relaunch operations, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported, citing industry sources.

Sources confirmed to PTI on June 30, 2022 that Jet Airways has recently initiated discussions with major aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing as well as several leasing companies about the potential lease of six to eight planes. This could include jets which were to be delivered to Russian carriers prior to the Ukraine war and the subsequent international sanctions.

“Aircraft availability is always an issue but now due to the Russia-Ukraine war, aircraft which were to be delivered to Russia are also available in the market along with those leased planes which were flying in Russia,” a source was cited as saying by PTI.

The planes could join Jet Airways’ fleet by December 2022.

News of the discussion comes at a time when the airline is busy preparing for its relaunch, which is due to happen between July and September of 2022. Jet Airways officially suspended all operations in April 2019, when its lenders refused to provide more than 50 million (Rs 4 billion) in emergency funding.

The carrier’s operations are now being restored under a new ownership consortium comprising financial advisory firm Kalrock Capital and UAE-based entrepreneur, Murari Lal Jalan, which won the bid to revive Jet Airways in spring 2020.

Jet Airways has already achieved all necessary steps in a comprehensive regulatory and compliance process, including procedural checks to prove that the airline is ready to restart operations. Most recently, in May 2022, the carrier received its air operator certificate (AOC), which was revalidated by India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).