From a fleet of over 120 aircraft, Jet Airways now has just 12 remaining. In the latest part of the bankruptcy process, Expressions of Interest have been sought from prospective investors. The EOI invitation included details of Jet’s remaining assets, which as well as 12 planes, include landing slots which could be reallocated back to the carrier, as well as the valuable Jet Privilege loyalty program.

Jet Airways was grounded on April 17^th when they finally ran out of cash. Despite efforts to secure new investors and to raise funds for the airline, talks failed, and they could no longer fly. Although the airline is yet to formally declare itself bankrupt, creditors have invoked the process and filed an insolvency petition with India’s National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

This means that the carrier is now undergoing formal disposal, which has seen many of its assets sold, repossessed or given away, ranging from airport slots to staff to aircraft. Now, the collective Jet Airways is nothing but a shell of its former self, with hopes of a last-minute rescue attempt looking increasingly unlikely.

10% of its former fleet

At its height, Jet Airways operated 124 aircraft, with a further 227 on order. Today, what’s left of that fleet is less than 10%, at just 12 aircraft. The remaining aircraft include three Boeing 737s, which are the only aircraft still owned by the carrier. The other nine are all leased, consisting of three A330s and six 777s.

Vistara has already been eyeing up some of Jet Airways’ 777s as they look to launch more international routes following the loss of their rival carrier. However, one is currently impounded in Amsterdam, according to ATW Online. Of the three A330-200s, one is subleased to Air Serbia.

At the current time, Jet Airways’ valuable airport slots have been allocated to other airlines. However, this is on a temporary basis. Should the carrier be revived at the 11^th hour, Jet would need to provide a winter 2019/20 flight scheduled by the end of September, at which point authorities would consider reallocating the slots back to the carrier.

What’s next for Jet?

Right now the NCLT has appointed a resolution professional to oversee disposal of the carrier. As such, a final call for Expressions of Interest (EOIs) has been issued, with bids invited to purchase the airline and all its remaining assets.

Investors have until August 3^rd to submit their EOI, and the administrator will publish a list of applicants following this, on August 6^th. After that, objections to the bids will be allowed to be submitted up until August 11^th, with the list of applicants looking to be finalized by August 14^th.

Following this, the final applicants will have until September 5^th to submit resolution plans to the authorities, and final approval should be granted sometime around September 20^th.

While it might not seem there is a lot left of Jet Airways to interest an investor, there are some valuable assets among the detritus. Aside of the 12 remaining aircraft, the airline’s loyalty scheme, Jet Privilege, is considered to be one of the most valuable components of the carrier’s assets, with 8.7m members, five co-branded credit cards and 150 program partners.

However, there is also a significant debt burden to take into account. Nevertheless, initial reports indicate that there are some interested parties. CH-Aviation suggests that these include Etihad, the Hinduja Group, TATA Group and Qatar Airways.