Jet Airways faces ‘severe trouble’ unless it secures fresh funds

Jet Airways once flew high as the standard-bearer for air travel in a country where aviation was a monopoly of tired state airlines. But now with more than US$1.2b of net debt and its operational fleet having shrunk from 123 planes to just 41, the skies are darkening rapidly. Jet has defaulted on loan payments to lessors and creditors and pilots have not been paid in months. Its founder and chairman Naresh Goyal is desperately trying to regain the support of disillusioned investors and wary lenders. He has appealed for emergency funds from Etihad Airways, which would then be matched with fresh credit from Indian banks. But Etihad has so far refused. Monday, Jet grounded a number of flights to and from Abu Dhabi, Etihad’s main hub, in a move analysts described as a “point of no return” for the talks. <br/>