Looks like it is the end of road for Go First. About a year-and-a-half ago, the airline filed for voluntary bankruptcy pinning the blame on Pratt & Whitney for not providing them with operational GTF engines leading to grounding of the fleet and halting all commercial flights. The airline management was eyeing a revival after cutting down the losses and buying back the assets and resuming the flights.
However, things did not go as planned for the owners of Go First -- The Wadia Group. Since the airline filed for bankruptcy the typical-lessor-operator war of words erupted with long court room battles and nasty arguments to reclaim the aircraft. A major breakthrough for the aircraft lessors came by in April 26, 2024 when the Delhi High Court ordered the the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to deregister planes leased to Go First within five working days and return it back to the lessors.
With this, the airline lost its aircraft and its employees, all the airline left to its name now is some commercial slots. As of today, the airline has a debt of Rs 6,200 crore. The airline secured creditors have admitted claims amounting to: * Central Bank of India: Rs 1,934 crore * Bank of Baroda: Rs 1,744 crore * IDBI Bank: Rs 75 crore Fast forwarding to today, recent media reports have revealed that the Committee of Creditors (CoC) has unanimously taken a decision to liquidate the company as prospective bids from the resolution applicants have failed to meet the expectations.
As a matter of fact, the voting for liquidation is almost over while the recommendations will be submitted in a while. The further course of action will depend on the tribunal’s legal proceedings. Earlier this week, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had extended the insolvency resolution process and directed the CoC and the resolution professional to abide by the deadline.
The tribunal was very clear on not granting any further extensions to the grounded airline. Ajay Singh's SpiceJet, MakeMyTrip promoter Nishant Pitti and Sharjah-based SkyOne's Jaideep Mirchandani have expressed interest in submitting a resolution plan to revive the airline. But then, as the court ordered the airline to return the aircraft back to lessors, Ajay Singh and Pitti withdrew from the bidding, ending all hopes of revival for the airline.
So far, across the world, no airline that has filed for bankruptcy has revived till date. Experts believe once an airline files for bankruptcy as lessors swoop down to claim back their aircraft, there’s little that the airline can do. Airline operation is a no-mercy business.
That said, with airlines already operating on wafer-thin margins, it is a miracle that we see so many new airlines mushrooming not just in India, but across the world. But that's the beauty of aviation, when one goes, there's always someone else to claim its spot. Many avgeeks will be sorry to see the once-mighty brand of Go First, go to dust!.
