Sixteen Boeing 737s that were once in Jet Airways’ fleet are now flying for SpiceJet. And Vistara is also going to induct some ex-Jet Boeings. Aviation secretary P S Kharola, who is trying to ensure airfares return to affordable levels, said Vistara has applied for operating Boeing aircraft in its fleet for this purpose. The Tata Group-Singapore Airlines JV currently has Airbus on its airline licence.
“We are monitoring fares very closely and the spurt (post Jet crisis) has been contained. SpiceJet has applied to take up to 40 (ex-Jet) Boeing 737s. Vistara, which as of now has only Airbus on its licence, has applied to operate Boeing planes too. These applications are being processed,” said Kharola.
The aviation ministry has given domestic slots of Jet Airways temporarily to other airlines so that they can mount extra flights and fill the void to bring down domestic fares. The ministry held a meeting with Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, Vistara and GoAir to discuss how the foreign flying rights of Jet be given temporarily to them and help contain international airfares too. The airlines gave diametrically opposite views on how the same be distributed and the government is going to take a call now.
