Relief for Jet Airways as Etihad will take on lease 2 of its Boeing aircraft

Mumbai - Gulf carrier Etihad has said it plans to take on lease two Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft from India’s Jet Airways, in which it holds 24 percent stake.

The Abu Dhabi-based carrier scotched speculation that it was not interested in leasing planes from its foreign equity partner in India.

“We already have two Boeing 777-300ERs and two Airbus A330-200s in operations under dry lease from Jet Airways and are finalising plans to introduce further two aircraft before the end of the year,” Etihad said in a statement.

Earlier, sources in Jet said Etihad had indicated of not going ahead with leasing of Boeing 777-300 ERs from the Naresh Goyal-promoted carrier.

Three of Jet’s Boeing 777-300 ERs were with Turkish Airlines and had recently come back to the Indian carrier after completing their lease period.

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Jet was earlier planning to induct these wide-bodied planes on its international routes. However, after Etihad’s proposal, it shelved the plan.

Etihad picked up 24 percent stake in the Mumbai-based carrier for over Rs. 2,060 crore last year, making it the first FDI in the Indian aviation sector.

Jet had announced in August it aims to turn profitable in the next three years and was planning a major overhaul of its fleet and products.

India’s second-largest airline had reported a standalone net loss of Rs. 217.65 crore for Q1 FY15, down 39 per cent from the year-ago period.

The airline has been facing a tough time from its pilots as well as the regulator DGCA for quite some time now.

DGCA recently suspended two Jet pilots after issuing notices to 131 pilots for not meeting mandatory licensing requirements.

The airline has over 1,000 pilots and its subsidiary JetLite about 190.

PTI