Go First to go on legal war with Pratt & Whitney; CEO Kaushik Khona says airline seeking $1.1 billion in damages

Go First, the low-cost Indian airline that filed for voluntary insolvency last week, is seeking $ 1.1 billion in damages from engine maker Pratt & Whitney, who it blames is responsible for the airline’s collapse.

Go First chief executive Kaushik Khona, in an interview with The Economic Times, noted that the airline will be suing the engine maker in multiple jurisdictions to seek damages. 

Khona explained how the airline arrived at the $1.1 billion sum. He said, “We have already crossed 20,000 aircraft on ground (AOG) days in the last three years, losing almost $55,000 each day. This means that my compensation alone, or my loss, which I can claim from Pratt & Whitney alone, will be around $1.1 billion.”

“To ensure this happens, we will tap into many more jurisdictions across the world, some of which are in the US, one in Germany, one in Japan and maybe one or two more in Europe and Singapore,” he added.

Khona also noted that the promoters of the airline, the Wadia group, have received interest from external sources to raise capital but at the current stage they cannot be discussed with lenders of the airline.

The CEO also added that the Wadia group is committed to the airline, so much so that they raised fresh equity of Rs 290 crore in the last 10 days of April, just before the insolvency filing.

He said that the airline proactively cancelled flights and plans on resolving its issues soon.

Last week, budget airline Go Airlines (India) Ltd, which flies under the brand name Go First, announced that they are initiating voluntary insolvency proceedings with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) due to financial difficulties. The airline said that the crisis was caused because of faulty engines provided by engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney. The engine manufacturer responded to the allegations and said that the airline was irregular in making payments.

Also Read: 'Employees worst hit when airline shuts': Uncertainty grips 5,000 Go First staff as company files for bankruptcy - BusinessToday

Also Read: Go First crew stranded in Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Phuket after airline goes bankrupt: Sources - BusinessToday