Jet Airways has grounded 2 more aircraft after it failed to pay their lease rentals. The carrier disclosed the additional groundings in a Feb 23 letter to its 2 stock exchanges. It had previously disclosed that 4 jets were grounded for non-payment of rentals Feb 7, but none of the 6 aircraft have been identified, nor the lessors involved. "The company is actively engaged with all its aircraft lessors and regularly provides them with updates on efforts undertaken by the company to improve its liquidity," it adds. It is unclear if the grounded jets will be voluntarily returned to lessors, or if they are subject to repossession orders. The majority of Jet's fleet is leased, with GECAS, Aircastle and BOC Aviation among the most exposed lessors. <br/>
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Jet Airways' two largest shareholders, chairman Naresh Goyal and Etihad Aviation Group, have backed the bank-led bailout plan for the struggling Indian airline. Goyal and Etihad CE Tony Douglas, say that a number of stakeholders are working towards "the finalisation and subsequent implementation of the bank-led provisional resolution plan to ensure that the carrier emerges as a financially strong and resilient airline." Their comments follow the approval by shareholders to approve a plan to a group of Jet's lenders to swap their debt for US$16m in equity at a Feb 21 extraordinary general meeting, which they describe "as an important step in this direction." It is still unclear when the debt-for-equity swap will take place. <br/>