Jet Air to raise $350 mn by leasing aircraft

Moneycontrol Bureau

Jet Airways will pare around USD 500 million in FY14 bringing down debt levels significantly, said company officials in an earnings calls today.
K.G Vishwanath, vice president, (investor relations) at Jet Air said that USD 300 million-USD 350 million is regular principal repayment through operating cash flows.
On plans going forward on the airline’s recent deal with Etihad, where the latter picked up 24 percent stake, Vishawanath said that the deal will bring in incremental cash which will further help the carrier reduce debt, he added.
In addition, the airline also plans to raise another USD 300-350 million through aircraft sales and lease back transaction.
While giving details how the deal with Etihad will open up newer avenues for Jet, Sudheer Raghavan, chief commercial officer, Jet Air said the airline is looking ahead to use additional seats it has been allowed to operate from India to Abu Dhabi and onwards.
The airline plans to connect around 23 tier 2-3 cities in India, to Abu Dhabi, and then provide onward connections to Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Cairo.
Raghavan further said that the airline has started taking delivers of 46 Boeing aircraft and the process of inducting more planes will go on for around two years. The airline currently has 115 planes in its fleet and is keen to expand network globally.
The airline’s Q4 loss widened around 66 percent year-on-year to Rs 495 crore on higher fuel and interest cost may see  around 10-12 percent YoY growth in passenger traffic on the back of improved demand.
The airline has pulled out of many loss making routes in Q4 along wit leasing out excess capacity to other airlines. Read This: Jet Airways Q4 disappoints, net loss rises to Rs 495 cr