Jet Airways in talks with Boeing, Airbus for $12b order

The new owners of once-bankrupt Jet Airways India are in talks with Boeing Co and Airbus to purchase at least 100 narrow body jets for the carrier’s fleet in a bid to revive what used to be the biggest private airline in the South Asian nation before it collapsed under a pile of debt. The winning bidders for Jet Airways in a state-run bankruptcy resolution process -- Dubai-based, Indian-origin businessman Murari Lal Jalan and Florian Fritsch, the chairman of London-based financial advisory and alternative asset manager Kalrock Capital Management -- plan to start flights in the first three months of next year, Ankit Jalan, a representative for the consortium, said in an interview. The group will invest around Rs 1,500 crore ($200m) via equity and debt in the airline over the next six months, half a year earlier than originally planned, Jalan, who is Murari Lal’s nephew, said earlier this week. The potential revival of Jet Airways, which forced creditors to take a 95% haircut, will be the first for any airline under India’s bankruptcy laws and will intensify competition in one of the world’s most cut-throat aviation markets. Founded by ticketing agent-turned-entrepreneur Naresh Goyal after India ended a state monopoly on aviation in the early 1990s, Jet Airways became popular among fliers as an attractive alternative to Air India, offering full-service flights to cities including London and Singapore, before a bunch of low-cost airlines ushered in cheap fares for no-frills services. “The reaction that we saw of the Jet Airways brand coming back was motivation in itself,” said 37-year old Jalan. “That’s exactly why Jet is coming back; to serve the loyal fan base, to serve the people who miss Jet.”<br/>