Jet’s woes worsen, CEO and CFO quit

Beleaguered airline Jet Airways informed the Indian bourses on Tuesday that its CEO Vinay Dube, and its deputy CEO and CFO Amit Agarwal have resigned, effective May 14 and May 13, respectively. The airline, which ceased operations from April 17, said that both its C-suite executives left due to “personal reasons”.

These high-profile exits come just two days after Etihad Airways submitted its bid to “re-invest in a minority stake” in Jet Airways, which has debts in excess of $1 billion. However, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways’ bid is widely considered to be a damp squib, given that it was riddled with conditions.

“Etihad [Airways] was just being polite in sending the [bid] envelope,” says Ajay Awtaney, editor, livefromalounge.com, a business travel website. And adds, “They [Dube and Agarwal] were also riding on the hopes of a recovery, which has come to nothing. They are professionals and they had to leave at some point in time.”

Saddled with over $4 billion in losses, Etihad Airways was trying to raise a loan of $600 million from banks to purchase planes. “For someone who’s borrowing for their own operations, how do you expect them to invest in [Jet Airways]?” says Awtaney.

In May 2017, Dube, a former executive at U.S.-based Delta Airlines, was appointed as the CEO of Jet Airways. Prior to him, Agarwal was the acting CEO of the airline. Given that both have left the chances of airline re-starting operations seems like a forgone conclusion.

“Jet’s [airport] slots are gone, their planes are gone. What is left to buy other than their debt?” Awtaney points out. “The writing on the wall is simple: there is hardly anything left in the airline at this point.”