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Jet Airways’ new owner, the Jalan Kalrock Consortium, plans to infuse additional funds into the airline even as the earlier committed investment of ₹350 crore is being fast-tracked.
Speaking to BusinessLine , Ankit Jalan, partner of the Jalan-Kalrock consortium said that “We had envisioned infusing ₹350 crore in the first six months; this was our commitment in the plan, but we see that being fast-tracked as we realised that to rebuild an airline, we would need more than that.”
The consortium had to infuse over ₹600 crore in one year with the first tranche of ₹350 crore in the first six months. However, it plans to now invest up to ₹600 crore in six months.
“We may pump in $100-200 million. While this is just an estimate, it depends on how the market dynamics change because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Jalan added.
The fresh funding will be through equity and external credit borrowings. There are no plans to bring in any new investor to the consortium, according to Jalan.
Revival in full swing
The process of Jet’s revival is in full swing, and on track with the team’s expectations according to Jalan. Jet Airways has applied for the Air operator's certificate (AOC) and has sought all the necessary approvals. The consortium has received security clearances for three directors including Murailal Jalan (the lead of the consortium), Manoj Madnani (representative of Kalrock Capital) and Ankit Jalan, Murarilal’s nephew.
Jet Airways is likely to start in the first quarter of 2022. Jalan explained that the consortium plans to induct 20 aircraft and is in conversation with aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus for orders. The team will also hire its key managerial personnel, technical, IT and commercial staff.
Jalan said that living on the Jet Airways’ legacy, Jet 2.0 will be a full service carrier. “Jet has enjoyed brand loyalty and offered best in class services. We plan to use that legacy and run the airline as a full service.”
On network plan, Jalan said that the airline will start its services from metro cities and gradually look at expanding to tier-2 and -3 cities. On international operations, he said: “We have plans to start with short-haul flights to the Middle East and South-east Asia. In the next two-three years, we will start long-haul flights.”
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