Jet Airways to take back six aircrafts from Etihad

The Dollar Business Bureau

Private airline Jet Airways has decided to take back all the six Boeing aircrafts leased out to Etihad Airways, in the next six months and use them on some of its important routes that include Gulf region.

Giving a statement to the media, Amit Agarwal, acting Chief Executive and CFO of Jet Airways said, “The six aircrafts (B777-300 ER) are expected to be deployed from the month of August and some of these aircrafts could also be used on the domestic routes.”

"Our Boeing 777 wide body aircrafts, presently on lease to our investment partner Etihad Airways, will be taken back and deployed from August. After taking into consideration the market conditions, we are planning to upgrade some of the prevailing A330 aircraft routes with B-777," he said.

"However, we will be watchful and cautiously put these aircraft in the domestic sector," he added.

These planes, meant for ultra-long-haul operations, had been wet-leased to Etihad Airways, which has a 24 percent stake in Jet Airways which is owned by Naresh Goyal.

The Jet Airways, along with its arm JetLite, has 116 aircrafts in total, out of which 92 are operating on lease while the remaining 24 are owned by the airline.

"This decision to replace Airbus A330 with Boeing 777 will consequently result in enhancing the capacity in the primary market of India and the Gulf," said Amit Agarwal.

Jet Airways, the second largest domestic airline in terms of market share, recorded a net profit of Rs.426 crore in the quarter ended March 2016. The airline continuously showed profit for the fourth straight quarter, due to lower fuel prices and increased number of passengers.

In the fiscal year 2015-16, the private carrier witnessed its first yearly profit after eight years, posting a net profit of Rs.1,212 crore. In the corresponding year, the airline had a net loss of Rs.2,097 crore.