JKC 'remains fully committed to revival of Jet Airways' as CEO-designate Sanjiv Kapoor quits

The Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC) on Friday announced that Sanjiv Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer-designate for Jet Airways (India) Ltd, is departing the company effective Monday, May 1, on the conclusion of his notice period.

"JKC remains fully committed to the revival of Jet Airways, and the Executive Committee of JKC will oversee CEO-designate responsibilities until a suitable replacement is in place," said the consortium in a press release.

Ankit Jalan, Board Member - JKC, said: “Sanjiv joined us in April 2022 to spearhead the revival of Jet Airways, and drove the business and launch plan as we prepared to re-start the commercial operations of Jet Airways. JKC is grateful to Sanjiv for his contribution to the launch plans of Jet Airways during his time with us and we wish him the very best for his future endeavors. JKC will be announcing the new CEO for Jet Airways shortly.

"The revival of Jet Airways is through a Court Approved Process, which has taken more time than originally estimated by us, but needless to say JKC is committed to the revival of Jet Airways. We are in the last leg of closing the transfer of ownership of Jet Airways to JKC, subsequent to which we will settle outstanding amounts payable to previous creditors as per our approved Resolution Plan and shall, soon thereafter, recommence the commercial operations of Jet
Airways as per our re-launch plans.”

Sanjiv Kapoor said: “I am proud to have been part of a fantastic team that came together with JKC to create history by reviving an airline for the first time in India. It is not an ordinary airline we set out to revive – it is Jet Airways was one of the most loved airlines in India for the last 25 years it operated before ceasing operations in 2019. I am proud of the ground-breaking business plan we put together and the progress we made though regrettably the re-start of operations could not happen as planned in 2022.

"I am a firm believer in the tremendous value that can be created by full-service carriers such as Jet Airways following bankruptcy restructuring, and I know JKC is fully committed towards the revival of Jet Airways and wish them the very best. Consumers in a market as large as India need a choice of full-service carriers, and I look forward to seeing Jet Airways back in the skies again soon!”

In March, PTI quoted Kapoor as saying that the new management does not want to be ''in a rush'' to restart operations while asserting that the airline will be unique and different.

The ownership transfer of the grounded airline under the insolvency resolution plan has been facing hurdles over differences between the winning bidder and lenders.

Senior employees, including the company secretary, accountable manager and chief security officer, have quit the grounded airline in the past week.

Jet's head of flight operations, director of flight safety and director of training all resigned a few months ago.

In October 2020, the airline's Committee of Creditors (CoC) approved the revival plan submitted by the consortium of Dubai-based Murari Lal Jalan and the UK's Kalrock Capital. In June 2021, the consortium's bid was approved under the insolvency resolution process. However, the implementation of the plan is getting delayed.

Once-storied carrier, Jet Airways shuttered operations in April 2019.

Following the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) ruling in favour of Jalan Kalrock Consortium, the company was given 180 days to pay Rs 180 crore to the airline's former creditors and Rs 250 crore to its former employees. While May 14 is the deadline, the consortium has not yet made any payments.

About Sanjiv Kapoor

Kapoor began his airline career with Northwest Airlines in the United States in 1997 in finance, planning, and procurement. He has also worked with Temasek Holdings, and Oracle Corporation.

He is an alumnus of Kolkata's La Martiniere school and did his graduation in Computer Science from Dartmouth College in 1990. Kapoor received his MBA degree from Wharton (University of Pennsylvania) in 1996.

Prior to joining Jet Airways, he served as the president of Oberoi Hotels and Resorts and was also associated with budget carriers like SpiceJet and GoAir as well as with full-service carrier Vistara in various capacities in the past.

Kapoor is considered an expert in mergers and acquisitions and a turnaround strategy. He was also a CEO at GMG airlines in Bangladesh.