INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
by the airline's lenders to find a new investor to bail out the cash-strapped carrier.Saddled with more than $1.2 billion of bank debt, the
airline has been teetering for weeks and has yet to receive a loan of about $217 million from its lenders as part of a rescue deal agreed in
late March.Jet's fleet had shrunk to 119 earlier this year from 124 planes last year and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
has approved the de-registration of seven grounded Boeing 737 planes leased to Jet, according to notices posted on the aviation regulator's
Applications to de-register a further 24 aircraft are pending.The airline now has 115 planes, according to its website, though it was not
immediately clear if that includes the latest de-registrations
Of the latest seven planes to be de-registered, five belong to MC Aviation Partners, a unit of Mitsubishi Corp, and two are owned by Avolon,
the filings show.Once a plane is de-registered, the lessor can take it out of the country and lease it to other airlines."The first
de-registration filing by one lessor opened the floodgates for many others," said one leasing source who has dealings with Jet Airways.Once
India's leading private carrier, Jet Airways has been forced to ground more than three quarters of its fleet, mainly by lessors owed several
months' payments, sources have said.Aircraft lessors including Aviation Capital Group, Avolon and BBAM filed applications on Tuesday to
de-register 13 Boeing 737s, a source aware of the matter told news agency Reuters, taking the total number of such requests to 24.Aircraft
fuel suppliers are also tightening the noose.Indian Oil Corp, for the second time, halted supply of fuel to Jet Airways for a few hours on
Wednesday over non-payment of dues, a spokesman for the refiner said.Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp are supplying fuel
on a cash-and-carry basis, which means Jet needs to pay for the fuel at the time of purchase.Jet's lenders, led by State Bank of India
(SBI), have been seeking a new investor to take a stake of up to 75 per cent in the airline.Initial bids were to be submitted by the end of
Wednesday, but SBI has extended the deadline to April 12.Get the latest election news, live updates and election schedule for Lok Sabha
Elections 2019 on TheIndianSubcontinent.com/elections
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