Jet Airways sinks after top executives quit
- By Agencies -
- May 15, 2019
BENGALURU: Shares of Jet Airways fell as much as 6.05% on Wednesday, a day after its chief executive and two other senior executives stepped down, raising serious doubts over the revival of the debt-laden airline.
CEO Vinay Dube, head of finance Amit Agarwal and head of human resources Rahul Taneja quit within a span of 24 hours after Jet failed to receive a concrete deal offer.
Jet, once among the largest carriers in the country, was forced to ground all flights after running out of money and failing to secure funds.
The Indian carrier, also saddled with roughly $1.2 billion in bank debt, was crippled by mounting losses as it attempted to compete with low-cost rivals Interglobe-owned IndiGo, SpiceJet Ltd and Wadia Group-owned GoAir.
Stock was down 4.7%, as of 0347 GMT, and plunged 53.5% this year, as of Tuesday’s close.
At its peak, 26-year-old Jet operated over 120 planes and well over 600 daily flights, flying Bollywood film-stars, politicians and business tycoons across India and the world.
Hundreds of angry employees had protested in New Delhi and Mumbai last month, accusing management of leaving staff in the dark about the airline’s worsening crisis.
“Management never gives us a clear picture,” airline union leader Chaitanya Mainkar had said during a protest at Mumbai’s international airport where employees chanted slogans and waved posters that read “Save Jet Airways, Save Our Family.”