Author: Vindu Goel / Source: New York Times
Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters
MUMBAI, India — Jet Airways, which revolutionized Indian aviation after the government ended the monopoly of state-owned carriers, is now on the brink of shutting down, devastated by management missteps and the feisty low-cost airlines that followed in its footsteps.
Out of cash and desperate for a buyer, Jet is now operating just nine planes, according to the Press Trust of India, down from 123 at its peak. The company had grounded dozens of aircraft over the past few weeks as its finances deteriorated, and on Friday, it canceled its last remaining international flights through at least Monday, upsetting the plans of travelers in locations from London to Hong Kong.
“The airline’s management and its key stakeholders, including its consortium of lenders, continue to work closely towards resolving the current situation,” the company said in a statement. “Jet Airways regrets the inconvenience caused to its guests.”
The outlook is grim.
“I do not see that there is any way to revive it in this form,” said Harsh Vardhan, chairman of Starair Consulting and a former chief executive of Vayudoot, a regional state-owned Indian airline that folded two decades ago. “It has to die its own death before they may be able to get a strategic buyer.”
The company’s 1,000-plus domestic pilots, who have not been paid for three months, have threatened to stop working on Monday unless they receive their back wages. There is no money to pay them.
Naresh Goyal, a former…
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