Jet to sell for a song

Some 19 months after it was grounded, hope finally seems to have emerged for Jet Airways to take to the skies again. The bust airline’s committee of creditors approved a revival plan submitted jointly by London’s Kalrock Capital and UAE-based businessman Murari Lal Jalan. Details of the deal are still under wraps, but reports suggest they will get the business for a song, with very little money to be put in, the bulk of its debt written off, and a portion of the burden converted to equity that would give lenders a small stake in it.

But then, Jet’s creditors may be in no position to ask for anything better. Even pre-covid attempts at finding buyers had failed, and aviation has taken a hard knock since the pandemic struck, throwing into jeopardy the future of another one-time No. 1 carrier, Air India, which has languished on the block for even longer.