Jet Airways orders 17 Boeing 737s

Jet Airways, India's top private airline, has ordered 17 midrange 737 aircraft from US-based aircraft company, Boeing.

"Jet Airways of India has placed order for 17 Boeing 737 aircraft," a Boeing spokesperson told PTI on Thursday.

The orders were placed this month, the official said. The spokesperson, however, did not elaborate and said that it was up to the airline to make the announcement.

A Jet Airways spokesperson said that this was part of the previous order in 2007. The exact value of the transaction was not revealed. However, according to the release issued in 2007, the company had placed an order worth $ 1.5 bn for 20 Boeing 737-800 planes.  

Jet Airways shares rose 3 per cent on Friday while the BSE Sensex traded flat.

The order assumes significance in the light of troubled times faced by airline companies in India. They are struggling due to rising fuel and operating costs. Jet Airways reported a net loss of Rs 713.60 crore in September 2011 quarter.

Analysts say that the street would watch the company’s plan to fund this purchase. A mid-sized Boeing 737 costs anywhere between $ 50m to $ 70m. Rating agency ICRA cut the company’s rating on term loans and long-term fund-based limits in December 2011. This could raise the cost of borrowing for the airline.

Jet Airways has been castigated for not fully complying with the 2011 audit plan and not having adequate number of trainers. The airline and its subsidiary JetLite were faced with shortage of commanders and having a serious backlog in imparting training to the cabin and cockpit crew.

Meanwhile, Jet Airways was castigated by the aviation regulator, DGCA (directorate general of civil aviation) for not fully complying with the 2011 audit plan and not having adequate number of trainers. The airline and its subsidiary JetLite were faced with shortage of commanders and having a serious backlog in imparting training to the cabin and cockpit crew.

The DGCA is understood to have pointed out that the Naresh Goyal-promoted carrier had cancelled as high as one-third of its flights due to poor loads, though the rate of cancellation was only 0.8 per cent in 2011.

(With inputs from PTI)