Vistara (Delhi International) is reportedly looking at taking over some of the B737-800s previously operated by Jet Airways (Mumbai International), the Times of India has reported. Meanwhile, Air India (AI, Delhi International) decided against taking over five B777-300(ER) from the dormant rival.
Vistara did not formally confirm its interest in ex-Jet Boeing narrowbodies but said that it is looking at ways to boost capacity in the wake of the rival's demise.
The full-service 51/49 joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines Group currently operates exclusively Airbus aircraft, namely thirteen A320-200s and nine A320-200neo. It also has a further thirteen A320neo on order from the manufacturer. The airline will use Boeing aircraft - specifically six B787-9s initially - for its widebody fleet.
Jet Airways operated forty-nine B737-800s at the time of its grounding, as well as two B737-700s and five B737-900s. Its subsidiary JetLite (Delhi International) operated a further two -700s and five -800s. SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International) has already initiated proceedings to take over twenty-two -800s from its former rival.
In turn, Air India said that given the current technical status of ex-Jet B777-300(ER)s, it decided against trying to add these aircraft. The widebodies require maintenance and could not be immediately deployed into revenue service. The flag carrier previously hoped that it would be able to use these widebodies to replace its grounded in-house B777-300(ER)s. According to the ch-aviation fleets module, four out of fifteen Air India's B777-300(ER)s are currently grounded, including two undergoing VIP conversion.
Air India has instead earmarked INR5 billion rupees (USD72 million) for urgent repairs and eyes to have all its currently grounded aircraft back in the air by August 2019.
Meanwhile, after Jet Airways ended all flights, Boeing erased its aircraft from the order backlog. This includes 125 B737-8s and ten B787-9s. A further seventy-five B737 MAX 8s previously attributed to an unidentified customer were also erased from the backlog. They were presumably also destined for Jet Airways, which previously confirmed it planned to add 200 B737 MAX in total.
The grounded carrier itself is still trying to secure investment to restart operations. TNN has reported that the airline has appealed to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) not to take away Jet Airways' slots for international flights as that could significantly lower the interest of potential investors.
The Economic Times has further reported that a group of the carrier's staff wrote to the State Bank of India, which leads the talks with investors. They offered to raise INR70 billion rupees (USD1 billion) from investors to save the airline.
The deadline for binding bids for an up to 75% stake in Jet Airways falls on May 10. Etihad Airways, government-backed National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), and TPG Capital are currently evaluating the carrier's situation.
