Jet Airways to take off again; Mumbai travel agents ask about compensation for losses they incurred

Jet Airways ceased operations in 2019 following bankruptcy. File pic

It is ready, jet set go for Jet Airways, which has formally announced the resumption of its domestic operations in the first quarter of 2022, according to Jalan Kalrock Consortium, which is the resolution applicant of the airline. Meanwhile, travel agents, who lost copious amounts of money following the carrier's grounding two years ago, ask about the compensation for the losses they incurred.

A press release from the company said the process of reviving the grounded carrier is at the take-off stage. It stated that work is on for slot allocation, required airport infrastructure and night parking.

Murari Lal Jalan, lead of the Consortium, said they received National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approval in June 2021, and Jet Airways 2.0 is looking at a domestic re-start next year and short-haul international operations in the third and fourth quarters of 2022.

The company will be headquartered in Delhi-NCR and has already announced ambitious fleet numbers, saying it hopes to have 50-plus aircraft in three years and approximately 100 in five years. It has also announced plans to add 1,000-plus employees to its existing strength of 150 staffers across categories.

Money owed

Mumbai's Ajay Prakash, head of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), said, "Jet Airways owes travel agents crores of rupees, the money that has not been refunded since the airline was grounded. People who support this come-back must also think about the huge amount owed to different agents and by that measure this is money of the travelling public. The traveller had booked tickets through the agent. The agent books tickets with the airline. The airline gets grounded. So, travellers are unable to fly. They ask for refunds but the airline has not repaid the travel agent, as the ticket got cancelled since the flights did not operate. How then are agents supposed to pay the traveller back? If they do, it is at a huge loss. When agents asked for refunds when the airline was grounded and there were very few people to ask, we got empty, placatory answers like, ‘yes we are working on it'."

Prakash asked, "If I as an agent defaulted in my payment to the airline, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) would not give me permission to re-start till I paid all my outstanding dues. By that yardstick, why should the airline as an entity have a different set of rules?"

The company said the process of reviving the grounded carrier is at the take-off stage. File pic/AFP

He added, "We are in the same business, so one needs a level playing field. The NCLT order in the case of Jet Airways mandated that all claimants would get Rs 15,000 as outstanding - regardless of the amount owed. That is nowhere near what passengers and agents are owed."

Prakash claimed TAFI has asked that it is imperative that the government, along with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), put in place a system where the monies of the travelling public are protected. "They can come back but they should also pay these amounts, otherwise it is absolutely criminal," finished the TAFI president.

Parvez Damania, founder of erstwhile Damania Airways and Ajay Prakash, president, Travel Agents Federation of India

Fresh slate

Parvez Damania, of the Damania Airways fame, and later the former executive director of Kingfisher Airlines, said, "I am unsure about the future of Jet Airways. It used to be a strong brand and was a great product. Yet, today, I do not know about the aircraft they have or the slots available to them. The slots have been allocated to other airlines and the positive equity seems to have gone too. Their senior staff - pilots - seem to have been absorbed by other airlines.

"In such a scenario, a new airline, starting on a fresh slate, is better than carrying on the legacy of the old airline with all its liabilities and legal cases," finished the Mumbai entrepreneur who blazed a trail with his now-defunct Damania Airways.