What Market Veterans Have To Say About Jet Airways’ Crisis

The fate of Jet Airways (India) Ltd. continues to hang in balance after lenders delayed an emergency lifeline.

The board of the cash-strapped airline will meet today to take a call on the “next steps forward”, newswire PTI reported quoting Chief Executive Vinay Dube.

The lenders, led by State Bank of India, met on Monday to discuss whether to provide the Rs 1,500-crore debt, crucial for the survival of India’s first private sector full-service carrier over the next few weeks. But bankers told BloombergQuint on the condition of anonymity that they await a direction from the government as they fear prosecution later. “The consortium has sought either an official or unofficial go-ahead from the central government before they infuse funds,” they said requesting anonymity.

Here’s what market veterans had to say about the ongoing Jet Airways’ crisis:

‘Uncertainty To Continue’

The only thing certain at the moment is that the uncertainty will continue, according to Jitender Bhargava, former executive director at Air India.

‘Government Should Leave The Airline Alone’

The best thing for the government to do is to leave the airline alone and let the market decide, Amrit Pandurangi, aviation expert told BloombergQuint. “The government would end up messing it further if they intervene.”

‘Makes More Sense For A New Investor To Start A New Airline’

It’s clear that the SBI’s intention was not to save Jet but more of looking at a stake sale, according to Mark Martin, founder and chief executive officer of Martin Consulting.

Watch the full interaction here: