JOIN USUnable to take to the skies, Jet 2.0 loses its Designate-CEO Sanjiv Kapoor
Amidst the efforts to revive Jet Airways, its Chief Executive Officer-designate Sanjiv Kapoor quit the embattled carrier. A statement from the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium (JKC) issued on Friday confirmed that he will relinquish his office from May 1.
“The Executive Committee of JKC will oversee CEO-designate responsibilities until a suitable replacement is in place,” the company said in the statement. The company, however, didn’t disclose the reasons for his abrupt exit.
“I am proud of the ground-breaking business plan we put together and the progress we made, though regrettably the re-start of operations could not happen as planned in 2022,” said Sanjiv Kapoor in the statement.
Kapoor’s resignation comes amid unresolved issues between lenders and the Jalan-Kalrock consortium for the transfer of the airline. The airline, which has been grounded since 2019, was given time till May 14 to make the payments to its erstwhile creditors for the transfer of ownership, after the consortium's bid was approved under the insolvency resolution process by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The company has, however, made no payments so far.
“Jet 2.0 has been fundamentally flawed because of the back motive of the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium (JKC). If the consortium was truly focused on reviving the airline, it could have paid all liabilities and started the airline afresh,” an industry source told DH.
Industry watchers see no sign of the airline’s proposed revival and have voiced skepticism on its fruition. Lenders are considering moving the court against the stalled process. Meanwhile, JKC claimed in its Friday statement that it “remains fully committed to the revival of Jet Airways…”
While Kapoor had joined Jet Airways as their Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on April 4, 2022, the airline, in January 2023, announced that Sanjiv Kapoor would remain the CEO-designate of the company till the airline's ownership was transferred to the consortium of Dubai-based Murari Lal Jalan and the UK's Kalrock Capital by the lenders.
“We are in the last leg of closing the transfer of ownership of Jet Airways to JKC, subsequent to which we will settle outstanding amounts payable to previous creditors as per our approved Resolution Plan and shall, soon thereafter, recommence the commercial operations of Jet Airways as per our re-launch plans,” Ankit Jalan, Board Member - JKC said in the statement.
“It is now widely believed a front created by Naresh Goyal, the founder Chairman of Jet Airways, is likely to take over Jet Airways from the NCLT,” a source close to the matter told DH.
A little over a year after coming on board to revive Jet Airways, the airline's CEO-Designate Sanjiv Kapoor has put in his papers.
A source said that Kapoor's last working day at the grounded airline was Friday.
The once-storied carrier stopped flying in April 2019 and later the Jalan-Kalrock consortium emerged as the winning bidder through an insolvency resolution process, but the ownership transfer is yet to happen.
Kapoor joined the airline as the Chief Executive Officer in April last year.
There was no immediate comment from Kapoor.
Amid continuing uncertainties, many senior executives have quit the airline in recent months.
On March 20, Kapoor said the new management does not want to be "in a rush" to restart the operations of Jet Airways.
Speaking at a conference in the national capital, he had also said the journey is a marathon, and not a sprint.
Amid continuing differences between the lenders and the consortium, the ownership of the airline is yet to be transferred to the winning bidder.
Against this backdrop, the Jalan-Kalrock consortium, on January 2, said Kapoor will remain the CEO-designate of the company till the airline's ownership is transferred to the consortium by the lenders.
The airline's air operator certificate was revalidated by aviation safety regulator DGCA in May 2022, following which it announced its plans to recommence operations in September 2022, but the relaunch was delayed.
Prior to joining of Kapoor, Sudhir Gaur had quit as the interim CEO of Jet Airways.
In October 2020, the airline's Committee of Creditors (CoC) approved the revival plan submitted by the consortium of Dubai-based Murari Lal Jalan and the UK's Kalrock Capital. In June 2021, the consortium's bid was approved under the insolvency resolution process.
In January this year, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the transfer of ownership of bankrupt Jet Airways to the Jalan Kalrock consortium and gave the winning bidder more time to pay the dues to the creditors.
The rulings had come on two petitions filed by the consortium. One plea pertained to the approval of the transfer of ownership, and the second one related to an extension of time for the payment of dues to the creditors.