The Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC) has confirmed payment of an additional INR1 billion rupees (USD12 million) in its bid to take over Jet Airways (Mumbai International). This completes, it said, its payment obligations as spelled out in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) resolution plan.
"The consortium's strategy to revive the airline remains unaltered. The new promoters are determined to re-establish the operations of the airline up and running in 2024," a statement from the airline said.
Jet Airways has not flown since April 2019, after running out of day-to-day cash and subsequently filing for insolvency. In 2020, JKC, a joint venture between Kalrock Capital Partners and Murari Lal Jalan, secured the rights to buy it. In mid-2022, the NCLT approved a deal between JKC and the airline's many creditors to restart it. That agreement, the so-called resolution plan, included JKC paying INR3.5 billion (USD42 million) to out-of-pocket creditors, a fraction of the INR78.1 billion (USD940 million) Jet Airways owed when it filed for insolvency.
The NCLT approving the resolution plan should have paved the way for the smooth transition of ownership and restart of the airline - once India's biggest privately owned carrier. However, the relationship between JKC and the committee of creditors broke down and the ownership transfer subsequently became bogged down in legal disputes and recriminations.
Jet Airways recently paid INR1 billion of the INR3.5 billion due within 48 hours of the NCLAT allowing implementation of the airline's revival plans, having previously lodged a “performance bank guarantee” of INR1.5 billion (USD18 million). The final INR1 billion payment was due on or before August 31, the latest in a long line of payment extensions the consortium has received, but on August 28 the appellate bench of the NCLT granted one more reprieve, giving it until September 30 to pay the final INR1 billion.
The JKC statement said that the final payment reaffirmed "its unwavering commitment to a successful resurgence of Jet Airways" and that it has fulfilled all of its commitments to take over Jet Airways. Local media reported that JKC executives had recently started holding talks with aircraft manufacturers, lessors, pilot training organisations, and airports. The Economic Times claimed that consortium board member Ankit Jalan had met Embraer CEO Francisco Gomes Neto. Jet Airways did not respond to a request for comment.
