Jet Airways crisis: No Money, no fuel, no flights - This is what you can do with your already booked tickets

I remember my first flight with Jet Airways. I was travelling from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai. It was a pleasant journey. The crew crew members were warm and welcoming. And, before the take off, the pilot greeted all the passengers and provided us with weather update. We had a safe landing and it was a memorable. The airline has been in commercial service for over two decades now - enjoying a glorious market presence - the reason why its recent fall comes as a shock for many. On Wednesday evening, the airline decided to shut its services. Yes, Jet Airways has hit a dead end, at least for now. No one knows when will it commence its services!

The impact was seen on the Dalal Street as well. The Jet Airways shares plunged by 34 per cent on Thursday morning. The airline’s shares were trading at Rs 177.60 per piece down by Rs 62.90 or 26.15% on NSE at around 1334 hours after clocking a new low of Rs 158.70 per piece in early hours of trading session, taking its quantum loss by over 34.01%. This came a day after Jet Airways was informed by its consortium of lenders, led by SBI, that they are unable to consider the airline’s request for interim funding.

In a letter to employees, Jet Airways CEO, Vinay Dube said, “Since no emergency funding from the lenders or any other source of funding was forthcoming, it would therefore not have been possible for us to pay for fuel or other critical services to keep the operations going.” Consequently, the airline has been forced to cancel all its domestic and international flights with immediate effect. “This decision has been taken after painstaking evaluation of all alternatives and after receiving guidance and advice on the same from the Board of Directors of Jet Airways," Dube said.

“Over the last several weeks and months we have tried every means possible to seek funding, both interim as well as long term funding, to keep our operations going. Unfortunately, despite the very best of our efforts, we have been left with no other choice today,” he added. The top official said that the airline will now wait the bid finalisation process by SBI and the consortium of Indian Lenders and will continue to support the bid process initiated by the lenders. He said that Jet is hopeful that it will be able to bring the Joy of Flying back soon.

Notably, it is not Jet Airways alone that faces the impact of shutdown, in fact, the passengers who have already booked their tickets for this month or future journeys will face distress as well. But there is no need to worry as Jet Airways has assured to refund tickets or provide you with alternative flights. The passengers travelling in future will be informed through text messages, email or phone call to the contact details listed in the booking about the status of their journey. 

Meanwhile, the passengers who will be impacted by the temporary suspension, will be given refund on their bookings. 

“We would like to assure you that our customer support teams are working 24x7 to ensure that our guests are re-accommodated on to alternate flights or provided with a full refund. Our Contact Centre, Guest Relations and Social Media teams have been receiving high volumes of queries which may lead to extended wait/response times for some guests," the airline said.

If you have booked a ticket directly from Jet Airways' website, mobile app, through contact centre or their ticketing offices, then you need to fill the below mentioned form and submit it for refund. Details like name, route, PNR, ticket number, travel date, mobile number and email address are needed to be filled. Also, you will have to provide your views before cancelling the ticket. Click Here!

(Image source: Jet Airways)

In case you have booked through a travel agent, reach out to your travel agent to process the refund. For tickets booked from ticketing office, you must visit the airport of that  city. Click here for address. Not only Jet Airways, even Civil Aviation Ministry is closely keeping an eye on taking care of passengers affected. Ministry of Civil Aviation tweeted, “Jet Airways has informed MoCA that it is temporarily ceasing operations. The bank-led resolution process is still underway and expected to end by May 10. During this time, MoCA will support the resolution process within the existing legal and regulatory framework.”

For passengers, the ministry added, “DGCA and other regulators are monitoring the situation carefully to ensure that all existing rules regarding refunds, cancellations, and alternate bookings are followed strictly.” If any passenger faces issues in the process, then the ministry has asked to file complaints to the AirSewa portal or mobile app. The ministry said, “We will follow up immediately.”

Jet Airways has informed MoCA that it is temporarily ceasing operations. The bank-led resolution process is still underway and expected to end by May 10. During this time, MoCA will support the resolution process within the existing legal and regulatory framework. (1/5)

— Ministry of Civil Aviation (@MoCA_GoI) 17 April 2019

While Jet Airways struggles to stay in business, its rivals IndiGo and SpiceJet will be the biggest gainers. Recently, IndiGo was granted to fly its new flights from Mumbai airport’s terminal 2, whereas SpiceJet has just launched new international flights from the India’s financial hub. 

Earlier analysts at Edelweiss Securities said, “Over the past two quarters, a dramatic turn of events has spawned uncertainty around Jet Airways (JAL). 1) Three-fourths of its original fleet has been grounded. 2) Rampant flight cancellations continue to dent its once-envious franchise. 3) Its precious berthing rights are being relinquished, especially at congested airports of Mumbai and Delhi, as well as prized international destinations. While varying possibilities are emerging, including the hunt for a new buyer and/or a debt write-off, JAL’s viability has taken a hit.”

According to the CEO of Yatra.com cited by Edelweiss, yields are up 15% YoY on domestic routes following several quarters of stagnant yields, enabling Indigo and SJET to clock a RASK improvement of 10%-plus YoY in Q4FY19E. 

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Hence, Edelweiss said, “Coupled with a fuel CASK fall by 1–5% YoY, Indigo and SJET should witness 7x surge in profits in FY20E. Moreover, Indigo has doubled its international market share to 8%, capitalising on JAL vacating key markets. In contrast, JAL shall make losses into FY20E as well. We recommend a switch into Indigo and SJET.”