Whats coming on July 23 ?
As we all avgeeks eagerly wait for a joint press conference(PC) to be held by Etihad Airways CEO Jamse Hogan & Naresh Goya,Promoter Jet Airways to be held on 23 July at 1030 am at ITC Maurya,New Delhi,some big questions awaits us.
What is the prime objective of this PC,is this just a gimmick to make the JEtihad presence felt to counter Tata-Singapore Airlines buzz,which will also be Full Service Carrier(FCC) or some big tickets reforms are underway at Jet Airways & we will get a glimpse of the same on that day ?
The time has all the answers,with less than 40hrs left in this PC,there are some very strong rumors which are doing the rounds.
The most important buzz of them is, Etihad Airways is interested to buy a stake in a Budget Carrier in India!!
Our very senior & very respected independent freelance journalist & blogger of international fame,Neelam Mathews who also writes a Blog as Aerospace Diary mentioned about this in a blog post.
All Jet Airways ATR"s going to Jet Lite ?
Another buzz(which is almost certain),it may or may not be announced on 23 July,is that all 18 Jet Airways ATR's will be shifted to operate under Jet Konnect under the JetLite AOP,buzz is all necessary DGCA documentation for same is already under process.
All these 18 birds fly on a AOP of Jet Airways as of today,but out of which 15 are painted in livery of Jet Airways & 3 latest ATR 72-600 ones registered as VT-JCX,JCY & JCZ are painted in Jet Konnect llivery as seen below,which again leads to a brand confusion among guests.
Picture Courtesy:- Very Dear Friend & Ace Spotter Sri Ram Link to Original http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=7818977&nseq=3
Irony is which i just noticed while writing the blog,even a Jet Airways ATR has Konnect written on it,in small,see picture below.
Picture Courtesy:- Praneeth Franklin Link to original http://www.airliners.net/photo/Jet-Airways/ATR-ATR-72-500-(ATR-72-212A)/1896098/L/
There is huge identity crisis prevailing at at Jet Airways since 2007 when Naresh Goyal added Sahara Airlines to its stable and renamed it as Jet Lite which was later renamed as Jet Konnect,which operates on a Jet Lite Air Operator Permit(AOP) but carries a different brand name as Jet Konnect!!
Is transferring ATR"s to Jet Konnect along with Pilots so simple ?
If all ATR's need to be transferred to Jet Konnect,which runs on JetLite AOP,then there has to be an approval sough from DGCA to transfer all ATR's to JetLite & this fleet type needs to be approved by DGCA for operations under JetLite AOP,which is an uphill task & is as good as starting a new airline,as all maintenance staff,inventory has to be maintained.
Another major issue which Jet Airways need to deal with is transferring/sending Pilots on deputation to JetKonnect,a move which is strongly being opposed by National Aviator Guild(NAG),registered Pilot union of Jet Airways.
Will this move by management lead to an agitation by Pilots at Jet Airways ?
A strong discontent among ATR Pilots may lead to an agitation as Pilots will either be sent on 12 month renewable deputation(extendable upto 12 months more) with a marginal difference in salary as compared to Jet Airways.
Second scenario can be that Jet Airways terminates the current contract of ATR Pilots & they are taken with a fresh contract on JetKonnect.Termination of contract needs a 6 month notice & also all pending arrears in range of 12-20 Lakhs for First Officers,Senior First Officers & Captains needs to be cleared which will be a huge cash burden on Jet Airways which posted a record 4000 CR plus losses recently,is badly short of cash.
Also if arrears of ATR fleet is cleared then rest of the 3 fleets will also demand clearing of their pending arrears.
National Aviators Guild(NAG) has assured in an email that seniority of ATR fleet pilots moving to JetKonnect will be protected,So this means sending pilots on deputation is the only option & termination of contract doesn't seems a possibility.
Another fear among ATR fleet pilots is once they go on deputation to JetKonnect,Jet Airways wont let them come back to Jet Airways saying we have requirement in JetKonnect thus hampering their career progression & transition to a 737 or onto a wide body fleet!!
All these issue regarding ATR Pilots being transferred to Jet Konnect,were covered elaborately in a BS story by Aneesh Phadnis dated 12 July 2014.
Will Jet Airways announce hiving off Jet Konnect completely from Jet Airways ?
Another strong buzz is Jet Airways will curtain its domestic operations to pave way for Jet Konnect to take over & Jet Airways will be reduced to a FCC catering to major metros & acting as a feeder service to Abu Dabhi only.
To implement this,4-5 Boieng 737 will also be going along ATR's to join Jet Konnect to strengthen its domestic fleet and operations.
Jet Konnect operates a fleet of 10 737 & 3 ATR"s 72-600 as of today,737 is split into five B737-700s, four B737-800s, & one B737-900(ER).
After this reshuffle of ATR"s & Boeing 737,Jet Konnect will have a combined of 33 birds comprising of 14-15 Boeing 737 & 18 ATR's,it is interesting to note,at its peak Jet Lite had a fleet of 18 Boeing once & 4-5 CRJ's.
Another very interesting buzz is which is just a matter of time,eventually sooner or later it will happen is Will Etihad Airways raise its stake to 49 % in Jet Airways ?
Jet Airways is going through its toughest times as mentioned in this Cuckoo Paul story in Forbes India dated 28 April 2014,this article is worth the read in present context of discussion.
This ET story by Arirban Chowdhury dated 17 July 2014 covers in depth about funds problems at Jet Airways & why Naresh Goyal selling more stake to Etihad Airways to raise its share to 49% is a strong possibility.
Few other buzz doing the rounds which are worth a mention are as follows.
Qatar Airways people were seen at SpiceJet office for an audit,this is not known whether this was a preliminary due diligence round of audit,or a final concluding round,after which a stake sale may happen soon.
But I m told just now,that Spice Jet has denied it in a filing to BSE.
So did Qatar Airways back out after doing an initial due diligence ?
This would be interesting to know.
Another very interesting round of buzz is Tata's are interested to buy JetLite & convert TataSIA to all Boeing fleet, JetLite along with ATR's will give a good regional presence & 5/20 rule also wont come into picture & TataSIA can fly international from Day1 if this materializes!!
Lastly when so much is happening in Indian Aviation,then how can we forget man of moment,Subramanian Swamy.
Swamy ji is contemplating to go move to court against Indigo tat it had a 45% FDI even before FDI was allowed,but 49% FDI by FII"s was allowed anyways,so I personally feel this will not happen.Like when Wilbur Ross bought a stake in Spice Jet!!
In the end,a little about Go Air which has delayed delivery of its 20th aircraft & will commence International Operations by next year only,as mentioned on Twitter by our very dear friend Khabri Lal.
Reasons to this are not known yet & May be they are playing a wait & watch game to see how Air Asia India expands & how Tata SIA will start its FCC services from Mumbai & will they fly international sectors from day one,if allowed by waving off 5/20 Rule.
Thats all for today.
Thanks a ton for reading.
Please do Like us on Facebook by clicking here
And do follow us on Twitter by clicking here
No comments:
Post a Comment