Mexico’s Interjet grounds 4 planes, stoking lessor angst

Interjet, the Mexican airline that acknowledged financial challenges in a court filing last year, is stirring concern among lessors by grounding four of its Airbus planes. The company says the jets are undergoing “major maintenance” and that 2 of them will be returned to lessors as it prepares to add newer planes to its fleet. Three of Interjet’s 44 Airbus A320 aircraft haven’t flown since at least October, according to data compiled by online flight trackers. One of its 8 new A321neo models has been on the ground since November. “We have an excellent relationship with our lessors, and we’re working with some of them to restructure our current leasing conditions,” the company said . In a subsequent statement late Tuesday, it reiterated that the maintenance is part of routine fleet management, and 2 of the grounded planes will be replaced with newer jets. <br/>