Jet Airways (JAI, Mumbai International) has again deferred delivery of its fleet of ten B787-9s, ordered from Boeing (BOE, Washington National) in 2006. The jets, which were to have arrived next year, are now only due in 2017/18.
Following Etihad Airways's acquisition of a 24% stake in the struggling carrier in 2013, Jet Airways last year unveiled a reorganization programme aimed at returning it to longterm profitability by 2017.
The plan involves debt restructuring, cost reduction through contract re-negotiations and process improvements, route network rationalization, and the sale and lease back of surplus aircraft. The deferral of the B787 order does not come as any surprise given that the carrier is suffering from a surplus of widebody capacity; three of its B777-300(ER)s and three A330-200s leased out to Etihad and Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul Airport) respectively.
“We are right now looking at more or less a flat fleet. We do have some lease expiries coming up, which we are looking to either extend or replace, but broadly, we are not looking at any substantial growth in our fleet. (We have nothing) in the order book for the next two to three years,” Abhijit Dasgupta, vice-president (planning and alliances), told India's Business Standard newspaper.
Other significant structural changes involved Jet Konnect (Mumbai International) transitioning from a budget carrier to a full-service operation in December last year.
Earlier this week, CEO Cramer Ball announced the restructuring plan had begun to pay off with Jet posting a profit of USD0.5 million for the third quarter of its current fiscal year ending on December 31, 2014 - its first since 2012.
