<p>Seeing any airline having to cease operations is never comfortable. Seeing a once-lauded operation come to an end is even sadder. But seeing such a carrier going through its final throes as it falls apart piece by piece really is awful.</p>
<p>Such a scenario has been playing out in India as Jet Airways’ operations were steadily hit by the gradual grounding of its fleet amid its liquidity crisis. Ultimately the airline was forced to suspend operations on 17 April.</p>
<p>Efforts, led by a consortium of lenders headed by the State Bank of India, have been working on a sale process aimed at attracting new investors. But more than a month since Jet suspended all flights, the carrier’s fate remains unclear.</p>
<p>Various firms have been linked as potential fresh investors in the carrier, including existing minority shareholder Etihad Airways, local firm Darwin Aviation, and most recently, a potential move from Indian conglomerate Hindju Group. The latter told FlightGlobal on 21 May that it is “evaluating the Jet Airways opportunity”.</p>
<p>Behind all this, of course, there are job losses at every level. Even before this process began, an exodus had begun, with India’s National Aviators' Guild reporting that 410 pilots left Jet Airways between September 2018 and the end of March 2019.</p>
<p><img alt="Jet Airways 7" src="/getasset/c36d8b26-81a8-4f96-b6c7-1869e3e83527/" /></p>
<p>via Wikipedia</p>
<p>While some jobs may be saved if investors can be secured for Jet, others will be grateful that there are still airlines across the country which are growing at a considerable pace. Already there has been interest from other carriers – Air India, Air India Express and Spicejet – regarding the wet-leasing of Jet’s aircraft. That means cockpit and cabin crew will be occupied to some extent. And whether a wet-lease is short- or long-term, opportunities for permanent roles could well ensue for individuals showing the right application.</p>
<p>Further reports suggest that a number of Jet Airways pilots have been taken on full-time by SpiceJet, albeit on less lucrative contracts than they had at Jet.</p>
<p>SpiceJet is one of several carriers in India, including GoAir and the country’s biggest operator IndiGo, which are showing no let-up in their fleet and network expansion plans.</p>
<p>Despite the troubles facing Jet, India was the fasting growing aviation market in 2018. Indeed, the competitive pressure resulting from the rapid capacity growth in India is among the factors that contributed to the tough climate in which Jet has faltered.</p>
<p>Notably much of this growth is centred around low-cost carriers. Well over half of seat capacity on Indian routes is provided by budget sector operators, whilst full-service carriers Jet and Air India had seen their share fall – even before Jet’s operational problems took hold.</p>
<p>It means there is likely to be no shortage of demand for skilled labour regardless of whether Jet can return to the skies. But the outcome of Jet’s efforts to secure fresh investment may dictate the extent to which these jobs are picked up by full-service or low-cost operators.</p>
<p>Such a scenario has been playing out in India as Jet Airways’ operations were steadily hit by the gradual grounding of its fleet amid its liquidity crisis. Ultimately the airline was forced to suspend operations on 17 April.</p>
<p>Efforts, led by a consortium of lenders headed by the State Bank of India, have been working on a sale process aimed at attracting new investors. But more than a month since Jet suspended all flights, the carrier’s fate remains unclear.</p>
<p>Various firms have been linked as potential fresh investors in the carrier, including existing minority shareholder Etihad Airways, local firm Darwin Aviation, and most recently, a potential move from Indian conglomerate Hindju Group. The latter told FlightGlobal on 21 May that it is “evaluating the Jet Airways opportunity”.</p>
<p>Behind all this, of course, there are job losses at every level. Even before this process began, an exodus had begun, with India’s National Aviators' Guild reporting that 410 pilots left Jet Airways between September 2018 and the end of March 2019.</p>
<p><img alt="Jet Airways 7" src="/getasset/c36d8b26-81a8-4f96-b6c7-1869e3e83527/" /></p>
<p>via Wikipedia</p>
<p>While some jobs may be saved if investors can be secured for Jet, others will be grateful that there are still airlines across the country which are growing at a considerable pace. Already there has been interest from other carriers – Air India, Air India Express and Spicejet – regarding the wet-leasing of Jet’s aircraft. That means cockpit and cabin crew will be occupied to some extent. And whether a wet-lease is short- or long-term, opportunities for permanent roles could well ensue for individuals showing the right application.</p>
<p>Further reports suggest that a number of Jet Airways pilots have been taken on full-time by SpiceJet, albeit on less lucrative contracts than they had at Jet.</p>
<p>SpiceJet is one of several carriers in India, including GoAir and the country’s biggest operator IndiGo, which are showing no let-up in their fleet and network expansion plans.</p>
<p>Despite the troubles facing Jet, India was the fasting growing aviation market in 2018. Indeed, the competitive pressure resulting from the rapid capacity growth in India is among the factors that contributed to the tough climate in which Jet has faltered.</p>
<p>Notably much of this growth is centred around low-cost carriers. Well over half of seat capacity on Indian routes is provided by budget sector operators, whilst full-service carriers Jet and Air India had seen their share fall – even before Jet’s operational problems took hold.</p>
<p>It means there is likely to be no shortage of demand for skilled labour regardless of whether Jet can return to the skies. But the outcome of Jet’s efforts to secure fresh investment may dictate the extent to which these jobs are picked up by full-service or low-cost operators.</p>