PremiumNew Delhi: SpiceJet Ltd chairman Ajay Singh on Monday said it was a "sad day" for Indian aviation as Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal stepped down from the board of Jet Airways (India) Ltd. Naresh Goyal is the founder of Jet Airways, a full-service airline that has been flying for more than 25 years.
The Jet Airways crisis is a wake-up call for India's policymakers to address structural challenges that is making domestic airlines uncompetitive, Singh said.
Goyal and his wife will step down from Jet Airways board under a resolution plan piloted by its lenders.
"Today is indeed a sad day for Indian aviation. By launching a truly world-class airline, Naresh and Anita Goyal made India proud," Singh said in a statement. "We urgently need to address structural challenges that make India's airlines uncompetitive to airlines around the world," he added.
SpiceJet is planning to lease Jet Airways' grounded planes from their lessors, in a move that will restore part of the aviation industry's capacity, Mint reported on 22 March.
A person privy to discussions between aircraft lessors and Jet Airways and SpiceJet had said that as many as 50 aircraft are on offer to SpiceJet. "Commercial negotiations are on for the leasing deal with SpiceJet. It will make immense sense to find an operator in India for these grounded planes than taking them elsewhere," the Mint report quoted this person as saying.
