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Members of Libyan internationally recognised pro-government forces ride in military vehicles on the outskirts of Tripoli
Members of Libyan internationally recognised pro-government forces ride in military vehicles on the outskirts of Tripoli, Libya April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Hani Amara

April 11, 2019

By Ahmed Elumami and Giselda Vagnoni

TRIPOLI/ROME (Reuters) – Fighting between eastern Libyan forces and Tripoli government troops killed 56 people and forced 6,000 to flee their homes in the capital in the last week, the United Nations said on Thursday, as France and Italy wrangled over how to respond to the renewed conflict.

After sweeping up from the south, the Libyan National Army (LNA) forces of Khalifa Haftar have been blocked in the southern suburbs of Tripoli about 11 km (7 miles) from the center.

Overnight, a Reuters reporter in downtown Tripoli heard gunfire and explosions as the LNA faced off with the forces of Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj’s government around the former international airport and the Ain Zara district.

Haftar’s push for Tripoli is the latest in a cycle of violence and chaos in Libya since the 2011 overthrow of former strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

In Rome, Libya’s former colonial ruler Italy warned France, which has close ties to Haftar, to refrain from supporting any faction after diplomats said Paris blocked a European Union statement calling on him to halt his offensive.

“It would be very serious if France for economic or commercial reasons had blocked an EU initiative to bring peace to Libya and would support a party that is combatting,” Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini told Radio RTL 102.5.

“As minister of the interior I will not stand by and watch.”

France, which has oil assets in eastern Libya, has provided military assistance in past years to Haftar in his eastern stronghold, Libyan and French officials say. It was also a leading player in the war to unseat Gaddafi..

Italy supports the U.N.-backed government of Serraj.

ITALY SPARS WITH FRANCE

Salvini said France had recently withdrawn its ambassador from Rome “for much less” after leaders of his League party’s coalition partners, the 5-Star Star Movement, had met with French “yellow vest” protesters.

“Some think that the (2011 Nato-led military intervention) in Libya promoted by (former French President Nicolas) Sarkozy was triggered more by economic and commercial interests than by humanitarian concerns,” he said.

“I hope we are not seeing the same film all over again.”

An EU draft statement on Wednesday said Haftar’s attack on Tripoli put civilians at risk, disrupted the political process, and risked an escalation with serious consequences for Libya and the wider region. The statement was blocked by France.

French diplomatic sources said on Thursday Paris did not object to calls on Haftar to stop his advance, but had only requested amendments including mentions of migrants’ plight and the presence among anti-Haftar fighters of militants designated as terrorists by the United Nations.

The latest tally of casualties from the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) said 56 people – mainly fighters though also some civilians including two doctors and an ambulance driver – had been killed, and another 266 wounded in Tripoli.

The number of people forced out of their homes doubled in the last 48 hours to 6,000, U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA said.

As well as the humanitarian consequences, renewed conflict in Libya threatens to disrupt oil supplies, increase migration across the Mediterranean to Europe, scupper the U.N. peace plan, and encourage Islamist militants to exploit the chaos. Libya is a main transit point for migrants who have poured into Europe in recent years, organized by illegal trafficking gangs.

The LNA forces moved out of their stronghold in eastern Libya to take the sparsely-populated but oil-rich south earlier this year, before heading a week ago toward Tripoli, where the internationally-recognized government of Serraj sits.

(Reporting by Ahmed Elumani and Ulf Laessing in Tripoli, Tom Miles in Geneva, Giselda Vagnoni in Rome, John Irish in Paris; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne, Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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FILE PHOTO: The JetBlue Airways logo is seen on a revolving door entering John F. Kennedy Airport in the Queens borough of New York
FILE PHOTO: The JetBlue Airways logo is seen on a revolving door entering John F. Kennedy Airport in the Queens borough of New York U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

April 10, 2019

By Tracy Rucinski

(Reuters) – JetBlue Airways Corp hopes to break into the low-fare, transatlantic travel market beginning in 2021 with multiple daily flights from New York and Boston to London, its first European destination, the carrier said on Wednesday.

To service the routes, the sixth largest U.S. carrier will convert 13 Airbus A321LR aircraft from its existing order book with a fresh version of its Mint business product.

The idea is to offer customers a fresh choice on routes where JetBlue President Joanna Geraghty said current competitor fares “are enough to make you blush.”

New York-based JetBlue, which unveiled the long-awaited launch at an employee event at John F. Kennedy International Airport, said it is still evaluating which London airports it will serve.

The company, which has built a reputation in the United States for more coach legroom than competitors and free broadband internet, has argued for regulators to force slot divestitures at high-traffic airports like London’s Heathrow to create a level playing field for new entrants.

A handful of Europe-based budget carriers have tried to penetrate the transatlantic market in recent years, but only cash-strapped Norwegian Air is still standing.

Iceland’s WOW, PrimeraAir Nordic, Britain’s Flybmi and Monarch Airlines and Cypriot carrier Cobalt have all ceased operations in a sector grappling with over-capacity and high fuel costs.

JetBlue said it will raise the bar on what travelers can expect from a low-cost carrier, particularly in Europe.

The carrier has argued in the past that its version of business class, Mint, has driven a 50 percent decline in premium fares on some competing U.S. routes, a reduction it believes it can also deliver for premium travel between the United States and Europe.

“JetBlue’s Mint product suits the Atlantic market as they will likely come in with stimulative fares to drive customer awareness and loyalty,” Cowen analyst Helane Becker said in a recent note to clients.

The main issue will be whether JetBlue is able to gain access at major international airports, she said, like London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol.

(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski, editing by G Crosse)

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FILE PHOTO: Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn accompanied by his wife Carole Ghosn, arrives at his place of residence in Tokyo
FILE PHOTO: Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn accompanied by his wife Carole Ghosn, arrives at his place of residence in Tokyo, Japan, March 8, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo

April 10, 2019

TOKYO (Reuters) – The wife of ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn returned to Japan on Wednesday and intends to testify to Tokyo prosecutors, the Nikkei newspaper reported, days after she left the country to seek help from the French government.

Prosecutors last week arrested the former Nissan chairman for the fourth time on suspicion he tried to enrich himself at the cost of $5 million to the automaker.

Authorities had also wanted to question his wife on suspicion that Ghosn had siphoned off payments through a company where his wife is an executive to purchase a yacht and a boat, public broadcaster NHK has reported.

Ghosn has said he is innocent of all the charges against him and said he is the victim of a boardroom coup.

His wife left Japan last week after Ghosn’s arrest, telling the Financial Times she was going to seek help for her spouse, a French citizen. Paris has said it was monitoring the situation.

Prosecutors had earlier seized her Lebanese passport but overlooked her U.S. one, allowing her to leave Japan, the Financial Times said.

On Wednesday the Nikkei reported that she had arrived back in Japan at Tokyo’s Haneda airport, with the intention of testifying to prosecutors on Thursday, citing sources. The newspaper quoted her as saying she wanted to tell a court that there was “absolutely nothing illegal”.

A spokesman for Ghosn did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

NHK said last week that prosecutors asked her to meet them for voluntary questioning as an unsworn witness, but the request was turned down, which prompted them to ask judges to question her on their behalf.

Such a request gives judges the power to question on a mandatory basis witnesses who refuse to testify, according to NHK.

(Reporting by David Dolan; Editing by Keith Weir)

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FILE PHOTO: A Qatar Airways Boeing 787 airplane is pictured at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome
FILE PHOTO: A Qatar Airways Boeing 7878 Dreamliner airplane is pictured at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Alberto Lingria/File Photo

April 10, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that the State Department was looking closely at Qatar Airways’ acquisition of a 49 percent stake in Air Italy.

Questioned repeatedly about the deal during a U.S. Senate hearing, Pompeo said, “We’re looking very closely at this recent decision by Qatar to take on 49 percent of this airline.”

Both Republicans and Democrats at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing said they were concerned that the deal with the Italian carrier violated an agreement Qatar Airways’ reached with the United States in early 2018.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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A member of Misrata forces, under the protection of Tripoli's forces, takes his position near a military camp in Tripoli
A member of Misrata forces, under the protection of Tripoli’s forces, takes his position near a military camp in Tripoli, Libya April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Hani Amara

April 10, 2019

By Ahmed Elumami

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Eastern forces and troops loyal to the Tripoli government fought on the outskirts of Libya’s capital on Wednesday as thousands of residents fled from the battle.

The Libyan National Army (LNA) forces of eastern commander Khalifa Haftar held positions in the suburbs about 11 km (7 miles) south of the center, with steel containers and pickups with mounted machine-guns blocking their way into the city.

Residents reported LNA planes buzzing Tripoli and the sound of clashes in outskirts. Haftar’s forces were engaging Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj’s fighters at the former international airport, one soldier told Reuters.

The United Nations said at least 4,500 Tripoli residents had been displaced, most moving away from their homes in conflict areas to safer districts of the city. Many more were trapped, it said.

The LNA forces moved out of their stronghold in east Libya to take the sparsely-populated but oil-rich south earlier this year, before heading a week ago toward Tripoli, where the internationally-recognized government of sits.

Libya has been split into rival eastern and western administrations since the 2011 topping of former strongman Muammar Gaddafi. He ruled for more than four decades before falling in a Western-backed revolt.

Since then, political and armed factions have vied for power and control of Libya’s oil wealth, and the country split into rival eastern and western administrations linked to shifting military alliances after a battle for Tripoli in 2014.

The United Nations wants to bring both sides together to plan an election and way out of the chaos.

“I JUST WANT TO SURVIVE”

Its humanitarian agency the OCHA said it was extremely concerned about the “disproportionate and indiscriminate use” of explosive weapons in densely-populated areas.

Half a million children were at risk, it added.

As well as the humanitarian consequences, renewed conflict in Libya threatens to disrupt oil supplies, boost migration across the Mediterranean to Europe, scupper the U.N. peace plan, and encourage militants to exploit the chaos.

Islamic State killed three people in a remote desert town under LNA control two days ago.

In Tripoli, nearly 50 people have died, mainly fighters but also some civilians including two doctors, according to latest U.N. casualty estimates. The toll is expected to rise.

Several thousand migrants, detained after trying to use Libya as a staging-point for crossing the Mediterranean to Europe, have also been caught up in the crisis.

The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Tuesday it had relocated more than 150 of them – among several thousand in total – from one detention center in south Tripoli to a facility of its own in a safe zone.

One official at that detention center said he flung open the doors on Wednesday and released another 150 migrants for their own safety due to the proximity of clashes.

The United Nations, United States, European Union and G7 bloc have appealed for a ceasefire, a return to the U.N. peace plan, and a halt to Haftar’s push.

Opponents cast him as a would-be dictator in the mould of Gaddafi, though Haftar projects himself as a champion against extremism pushing to restore order to Libya.

Haftar was among officers who helped Gaddafi rise to power in 1969 but fell out with him during a war with Chad in the 1980s. He was taken prisoner by the Chadians, rescued by the CIA, and lived for about 20 years in Virginia before returning in 2011 to join other rebels in the uprising against Gaddafi

Despite the flare-up in conflict, normal life was just about continuing in Tripoli, a city of roughly 1.2 million people, though prices were rising and businesses are closing earlier than usual, residents said.

“I don’t care who wins or loses, I just want to survive with my family,” said a teacher in Tripoli, who hoped to get out.

(Additional reporting by Aidan Lewis i Cairo; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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FILE PHOTO: A Delta plane passes a Delta bus on the tarmac at LAX airport in Los Angeles
FILE PHOTO: A Delta plane passes a Delta bus on the tarmac at LAX airport in Los Angeles, California U.S. January 10, 2018. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

April 10, 2019

(Reuters) – Delta Air Lines Inc forecast second-quarter profit above Wall Street expectations and reported a 31 percent rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday, boosted by a renewed agreement with credit-card issuer American Express and robust travel demand.

The company said it expects profit for the second quarter to be in the range of $2.05 per share to $2.35 per share.

At the midpoint of the range, the profit forecast was above average analyst estimate of $2.13 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

The airline forecast total unit revenue, a closely watched performance metric, to increase 1.5 percent to 3.5 percent in the second quarter.

The No.2 U.S. carrier’s net income rose to $730 million in the first quarter ended March 31 from $557 million a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, Delta earned 96 cents per share, beating expectations of 90 cents per share.

Total operating revenue rose 5.1 percent to $10.47 billion in the quarter.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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Renegade General Khalifa Haftar has only intensified his ongoing assault of the Libyan capital of Tripoli after the UN and various countries, including the United States have urged him to halt the advance of his Libyan National Army (LNA).

Haftar’s response? His forces unleashed air power over Tripoli’s suburbs on Monday.

Video emerged online and confirms the LNA’s airstrike on what’s said to be the city’s only currently functioning airport — Mitiga Airport — in the eastern quarter of Tripoli in what constitutes a major escalation. The video shows the moment a MiG-21 jet drops its deadly payload over what appears to be a densely packed civilian region.

Amid widespread condemnation from supporters of the UN-backed and recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) entrenched in Tripoli, LNA spokesman Ahmed Mismari insisted that the attack wasn’t aimed at civilian planes in a statement.

In the video footage an LNA warplane launches what appears a pair of unguided air-to-ground missiles towards the target — it’s unknown if there were any casualties from the airstrike, though over a dozen have died since the assault on Tripoli began from Benghazi-based Gen. Haftar’s forces, which includes multiple civilians.

The UN said 3,400 people have been displaced since the outbreak of major violence near Tripoli last Thursday, with Libya’s Ministry of Health citing 21 deaths and 27 injured, according to CNN.

One political commentator and historian, Gerald Horne, placed the latest rapidly unfolding events within the context of the prior NATO intervention: “You may well expect a bloodbath to unfold in Tripoli. Which is quite tragic and unfortunate, but I’d say it’s the inevitable outcome of the ill-advised attack by NATO, led by the US, that resulted in the 2011 overthrow of Gaddafi,” he told Russia’s RT.

Libya’s beleaguered Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj, leader of the GNA, has been told by his western supporters not to leave Tripoli. Though the UN and France have this week made shows of support the GNA’s Sarraj, whom Haftar is seeking to unseat, France is widely seen as quietly supporting Haftar, who could be the war-torn country’s next potential strongman backed by the Gulf states and some European countries (similar to the rapid rise of Egypt’s Sisi).

France has been under pressure since Haftar’s assault on Tripoli to not merely issue statements condemning “all sides”. Meanwhile, the GNA and its backers have called Haftar’s use of air power a “war crime”. The United Nations called it “a serious violation of international humanitarian law”.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s office has lately said it wanted Sarraj to remain a “key player” in continuing efforts to negotiate peace between the GNA and Haftar’s forces, saying “France would like Sarraj’s government to remain a key player and to try and conclude the peace process negotiated in Abu Dhabi,” according to CNN.

Last week’s assault by LNA forces focused on securing Tripoli’s international airport, 15 miles south of the city center, but which has been out of operation for years. It was briefly taken over by Haftar’s forces, but the GNA currently claims to be in control.

“Haftar forces attacked Tripoli four days ago, mainly from the south and got as far as controlling Tripoli international airport,” the GNA told CNN Monday. “As of yesterday and today, Monday, Haftar forces have been pushed back and Tripoli secured.”

On Sunday Secretary of State Michael Pompeo had urged in a statement, “We have made clear that we oppose the military offensive by Khalifa Haftar’s forces and urge the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital.”

Additionally Pompeo stated, “There is no military solution to the Libya conflict” — an absurd and ironic line for a top US official, given it was the US-NATO led 2011 war on Libya’s Gaddafi that plunged the country into years of internecine civil war and violence in the first place.

Alex Jones breaks down how the crisis in Venezuela could trigger a world war.

Source: InfoWars

FILE PHOTO: A Boeing logo is pictured during EBACE in Geneva
FILE PHOTO: A Boeing logo is pictured during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) at Geneva Airport, Switzerland May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

April 9, 2019

(Reuters) – Boeing Co said on Tuesday it handed over far fewer aircraft in the first quarter as the planemaker halted deliveries of its best-selling 737 MAX following the global grounding of the jets after two fatal crashes. Deliveries of the 737 planes fell to 89 in the first quarter from 132 a year earlier.

Total orders fell to 91 aircraft in the first quarter from 180 a year earlier. There were no new MAX orders in March.

(Reporting by Rachit Vats and Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)

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FILE PHOTO: United Airlines planes, including a Boeing 737 MAX 9 model, are pictured at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston
FILE PHOTO: United Airlines planes, including a Boeing 737 MAX 9 model, are pictured at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, U.S., March 18, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File Photo

April 9, 2019

CHICAGO (Reuters) – United Airlines’ use of larger aircraft on routes previously flown by Boeing Co’s grounded 737 MAX jets is costing the carrier money in the short-term, President Scott Kirby said in a letter to employees seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

“Of course, we can’t keep this up forever,” Kirby said, while noting that eligible employees will receive a one-time $100 bonus on April 17 despite an “unusually high number of headwinds thrown our way in the first quarter.”

(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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FILE PHOTO: Workers cover the cockpit window of a Jet Airways aircraft parked at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai
FILE PHOTO: Workers cover the cockpit window of a Jet Airways aircraft parked at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, India, March 26, 2019. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo

April 9, 2019

By Anshuman Daga and Aditi Shah

SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – In early January, Jet Airways and its main lender, State Bank of India, met with aircraft lessors to assure them there was a plan to rescue the debt-laden carrier so it could pay them, sources familiar with the matter said.

The idea was to shore up confidence in one of India’s biggest brands, squeezed by low fares and high costs. But some lessors quickly lost patience as the bank did not provide details and Jet’s founder angrily defied them to take back planes.

At one point, the airline’s usually jovial founder and chairman, Naresh Goyal, banged his fist on a table, jarring some of the lessors who had flown to Mumbai from Dublin, Singapore and Dubai, said one person who attended the discussions. “That meeting went horribly wrong,” recalled the executive from a global leasing firm, who did not want to identified because the meeting was not public.

Goyal’s emotional outburst and Jet’s subsequent failure to pay up as promised may have pushed the relationship between the airline and its lessors to a breaking point, two other executives who were at the meeting said, prompting some to take the drastic step of pulling their planes from its fleet.

That has led Jet, which blazed trails in one of the world’s fastest-growing air travel markets, to cancel hundreds of flights. Saddled with more than $1.2 billion in debt, and with dwindling revenue, the airline has said it also owes money to banks, pilots and suppliers.

It was not immediately clear how much money Jet owes.

Jet did not respond to multiple requests for comment but has said it is “actively engaged” with all its lessors. Goyal did not respond to requests for comment.

“Aircraft lessors have been supportive of the company’s efforts in this regard,” Jet said in its most recent statement to the Mumbai stock exchange on April 2.

The loss of aircraft and friction with lessors is just the latest major setback for Jet, which has been struggling for years, beset by an insurgent group of low-cost Indian competitors.

Purchases of wide-body aircraft 13 years ago and ambitions for the international market may have set Jet on its current course, industry insiders say.

The 26-year-old airline has posted losses in eight of the past 10 years and its share of the domestic passenger market has fallen to about 15.5 percent in 2018 from 22.5 percent in 2015.

About 60 percent, or more than $600 million, has been wiped off Jet’s market value over the past year.

Now, with the airline’s running out of ways to make money, state-run banks, led by SBI, took a temporary stake in Jet, promised a new loan of 15 billion rupees ($216 million) and forced 69-year-old Goyal to resign as chairman.

On Monday, Jet’s lenders laid out terms for potential bidders to buy up to 75 percent stake in the carrier. Expressions of interest are due on Wednesday, with final bids due on April 30. [L3N21Q14Z]

But lessors remain concerned, and some, such as Avolon, SMBC Aviation Capital, Aircastle and a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corp, have asked India’s aviation regulator to de-register a combined 18 planes, according to the regulator’s website.

“Despite Goyal’s departure from Jet, lessors don’t seem to think the carrier can be rescued, judging by the urgency in repossessing aircraft,” said Shukor Yusof, the head of aviation consultancy Endau Analytics.

That adds complications for any potential new investor, two industry sources said.

“How we do business with Jet in the future will depend a lot on the new investor and how they manage the relationship,” said one of the executives who was at the January meeting.

Aercap Holdings, GE Capital Aviation Services, Avolon and BOC Aviation are among the big lessors grounding Jet’s aircraft, leasing and industry sources say. Aercap, Avolon and BOC Aviation declined to comment. GE Capital Aviation Services said Jet was a long-standing customer and it remains in regular contact with the airline.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

The humbling of one of India’s most successful international brands illustrates the challenge of making money in the country’s aviation sector, dominated by low-cost carriers such as IndiGo and SpiceJet Ltd.

The Indian market is also highly price-sensitive, and airlines compete to keep fares low, even at a loss, to continue expanding. The domestic market has seen around 20 percent growth in the number of passengers over the past few years.

Carriers including IndiGo, SpiceJet and Vistara, a joint venture between Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons, have over 1,000 planes on order from Boeing Co and Airbus SA.

“India’s aviation market is cut-throat and it is survival of the fittest. One needs not only deep pockets but a deep threshold for pain,” said Yusof, adding that lessors will still seek business in the country despite the inherent risks.

When India’s Kingfisher Airlines went bankrupt in 2012, lessors were forced to write off millions of dollars in losses and thousands of people lost their jobs.

FALL FROM GRACE

When Goyal and his wife, Anita, started Jet in 1993, state-run Air India was the only formidable opponent, and the country’s aviation market was just taking off.

Goyal’s pitch was ensuring the country’s biggest private carrier had impeccable service – a world-class product built in India, industry executives said.

Jet’s problems began when it embarked on an aggressive international expansion plan, said an industry executive who has been associated with the airline.

The carrier ordered 22 wide-body aircraft for delivery over about 18 months, starting in 2006, depleting cash, the executive said.

Then Jet bought a struggling Indian airline called Sahara for 14.5 billion rupees ($209 million) in 2007 that had an ageing fleet and did not fit Jet’s corporate culture, the industry executives said.

Meanwhile, a newcomer, low-cost carrier IndiGo, had begun chipping away at Jet’s market share with cheap fares, one of the executives said.

In 2013, Jet was close to running out of cash, but survived collapse when Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways bought a 24 percent stake in the Indian airline. As part of the deal, Etihad also bought three pairs of Jet’s landing slots at London’s Heathrow airport and 51 percent stake in its frequent flyer program.

To compete with low-cost carriers, Jet has lowered prices without reducing its expensive services. High fuel prices and hefty taxes have compounded the spending issues, industry executives said.

Goyal, however, said in a statement last week after stepping down that the airline will “regain its rightful place in the company of global greats.”

HUMONGOUS TASK

Goyal’s penchant for control, which helped him build the airline, has been a stumbling block for potential investors. Tata Sons was in talks with Jet in November for a deal that never materialized, sources have said.

Etihad has also been reluctant to increase its stake in the carrier for similar reasons, sources have said.

If no suitable investors turn up at the auction, lenders will pursue alternative plans, they said, without specifying what those might be.

SpiceJet has been in talks with lessors to take some of Jet’s aircraft, a source has said.

Indian rules cap foreign airline investment in domestic carriers at 49 percent, and the government is eager to see Jet remain with an Indian entity, sources have said. That narrows the list of potential investors, aviation financiers and leasing executives said.

“It will be a humongous task for whoever comes in,” one of the industry executives said.

For an interactive link on the biggest airlines click https://tmsnrt.rs/2I7ITuI

For an interactive link on Jet’s average daily flights, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2FeFDel

For an interactive link on Jet’s grounded planes, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2HTmgKl

(Reporting by Anshuman Daga in SINGAPORE and Aditi Shah in NEW DELHI; Additional reporting by Tanvi Mehta in MUMBAI and Gaurav Dogra in BENGALURU; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

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