Jet Airways’ new owners hope that ‘Jet 2.0’ can take wing in summer. They are being very optimistic

Ever since the Resolution Professional (RP) appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) recently decided that the Murari Jalan and Kalrock consortium will take over the assets of the moribund Jet Airways, there has been intense speculation of what the airline’s version 2.0 will look like and what model it will follow. In an email sent out by their public relations agency yesterday, the new owners of Jet outlined some of their ambitions for the future. But it was far from a clear plan of how the airline will acquire either the slots they need to operate, given that rival airlines have gobbled them up since these are not “owned” by any airline, or where Jet Airways will acquire new aircraft to operate new flights. Besides, civil aviation is certainly not the most promising sector in a pandemic-hit world and a new player certainly cannot get adventurous in a slump. The statement thus reads more like a wishlist more than anything else.

Sure, Jet Airways has undeniable brand equity among flyers but in a price-sensitive market, they care more about prices and schedules. Besides, it will not be easy to replicate the old Jet Airways’ standards of service given that several of Jet’s older employees have found new jobs elsewhere. Also, while Jet Airways did own some aircraft, they have not been flown for over a year and the cost of bringing them up to safe flying conditions is considerable. The plans outlined by the new ownership have no details about the additional funding that the owners will bring in to not just revitalise aircraft but acquire new planes and the costs of restarting an operation. A line in a statement said that the owners looked at starting a new airline but decided against it, so they are essentially starting a new airline with an old brand. How much is that brand worth is a debatable point because when Jet Airways crashed and burned, it also lost several of its high-value customers. To assume things will be alright quickly by the summer might be expecting too much and makes one wonder if the owners really know what they are doing.