Wadia group owned Go Air cancels all flights and files for bankruptcy

• Image Credit: Internet

• May 3, 2023 | Kabir Chakraborty

He noted that the airline was also attempting to interact with lessors in order to deter them from taking any action.

Digital Desk: A day after GoFirst declared bankruptcy, its
CEO stated unequivocally that the company's owner, Wadia Group, had no
intention of selling the airline and is fully committed to it.

Go First filed for bankruptcy after grounding nearly half of
its fleet due to "faulty" Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines. The
fundamental reason for filing for insolvency was to resurrect the airline
rather than sell it, Go First CEO Kaushik Khona told Reuters on Wednesday. He
further stated that all payments had been made to Pratt & Whitney.

He noted that the airline was also attempting to interact
with lessors in order to deter them from taking any action.

Go First, India's fifth largest budget airline, declared
bankruptcy on Tuesday. Until March, the company held approximately 6.9 percent
of the market. The current financial issue is the result of a disagreement
between Go First and its sole engine supplier for its Airbus A320 neo fleet.

Go First claimed in a statement on Tuesday that its bankruptcy
was necessary owing to a "increasing number of failing engines supplied by
Pratt & Whitney's International Aero Engines," which had resulted in
the grounding of 25 aircraft.

Pratt & Whitney was accused
by the firm of failing to comply with an arbitration ruling mandating it to
release spare leased engines.

Passengers who had booked their Go First flights are
encountering problems, as the airline had cancelled flights scheduled from May
3 to May 5 for 'operational reasons'.

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Jyotiraditya Scindia, the civil aviation minister, has stated
that the government will provide Go First with all available help.

Notably, this is India's first major airline failure since Jet
Airways in 2019. The recent merging of Tata-owned airlines, such as Air India
and Vistara, under the Tata group has heightened competitiveness in India's
airline business.

Jet
Airways, which had grown to become one of India's top airlines, went bankrupt
in 2019 with $1.2 billion in debt. The corporation ended up laying off 20,000
workers. Kingfisher Airlines went bankrupt in 2012 after failing to repay
millions of dollars in loans to state-owned banks. Vijay Mallya, the company's
owner, has fled India and is facing financial fraud allegations.