Jet Airways owes vast sums to lessors, suppliers, pilots and oil suppliers Jet Airways' group of lenders said on Thursday that they are "reasonably hopeful that the bid process is likely to be successful".
The statement from the lenders, led by State Bank of India (SBI), came a day after the airline suspended all its flight operations indefinitely.
Jet Airways - once India's largest private sector airline - took the decision to stop flying on Wednesday evening after the lenders declined to release emergency funds for the carrier.
Saddled with a debt pile of more than Rs 8,000 crore, Jet Airways is struggling to stay afloat as it owes vast sums to lessors, suppliers, pilots and oil companies.
Here are 10 things to know about Jet Airways' crisis:In its statement on Thursday morning, the consortium of lenders said: The lenders after due deliberations decided that the best way forward for the survival of Jet Airways is to get the binding bids from potential investors who have expressed EoI (expression of interest) and have been issued bid documents on 16th April.The lenders also said that they are hopeful that the bidding process will lead to determining fair value of the enterprise in a transparent manner.The government has directed the civil aviation secretary to review the issues ailing the airline.
On Wednesday, the ministry said that meetings with airports and airlines would be held the next day.Announcing its decision to stop flying on Wednesday, the airline stated that it is simply unable to conduct flight operations "in a manner that delivers to the very reasonable expectations of its guests, employees, partners and service providers"."Since no emergency funding from the lenders or any other source is forthcoming, the airline will not be able to pay for fuel or other critical services to keep the operations going," it said.Jet Airways is compelled to cancel all its international and domestic flights.
"The last flight will operate today," it noted.The carrier needs an immediate fund infusion to get its planes back in the air and restore some of its key sectors to start generating revenue.The group of lenders want a new investor to buy a stake of up to 75 per cent in Jet Airways.SBI informed Jet Airways on Wednesday that it had received EoI documents by bidders for stake in the airline, and the bidding process would conclude on May 10.Before its decision to finally suspend all of its flying operations, the airline had been losing planes in recent weeks as lessors scrambled to de-register and take back their aircraft.Jet Airways shares plunged as much as 34 per cent in morning trade on Thursday.
On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the stock fell to as much as Rs 158.70 apiece, compared with the previous close of Rs 240.50.(With agency inputs)Get the latest election news, live updates and election schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on TheIndianSubcontinent.com/elections.
Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram for updates from each of the 543 parliamentary seats for the 2019 Indian general elections.