Our debt needs no help: Jet Airways

New Delhi: Jet Airways, India’s largest passenger airline, has disassociated itself from a move to restructure the ballooning debts of the aviation industry. The debt recast initiative has been launched by Indian Banks Association (IBA), the umbrella body of bankers. IBA has approached the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with a request to clear such a proposal.
Confirming the development, a senior Jet executive, said: “We are not looking at any restructuring of our debt and do not need it, as the majority of our loans are for aircraft purchase. These loans are guaranteed, long-term and at a lower interest rate.”
Of Jet’s Rs 14,818 crore debt, its short-term loans are Rs 3,000 crore. “A major amount of our short-term debt is working capital debt and only Rs 500 crore is in (strictly) short-term debt. We do not need any restructuring for this amount,” he said.
Jet finished the last financial year with losses of Rs 467.6 crore, but started the current financial year with a profit of Rs 3.5 crore in the first quarter.
The country’s three biggest carriers — Jet, Kingfisher Airlines and the government-run Air India (AI) — which control 65 per cent of the domestic passenger traffic, have a combined debt of Rs 63,045 crore. Of this, Rs 16,000 crore is in short-term loans.
02/08/10 Mihir Mishra/Business Standard

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Categories: Jet Airways Aug 2010