MUMBAI: Air India Ltd’s plan to lease five Boeing Co. 777 aircraft of Jet Airways (India) Ltd has hit a roadblock as the biggest lender to the grounded airline has still to respond to the offer.
“We have submitted our plans (to lease the aircraft) to State Bank of India (SBI) and we are yet to hear from them,” said a senior Air India official, requesting anonymity.
A consortium of lenders of the airline led by SBI took control of Jet Airways, in March, after the airline defaulted on interest payments in December and eventually shut operations amid a cash crunch and large debt. The consortium of banks has also thrown open a bidding contest for a new investor that is expected to be completed in the June quarter.
