Go Airlines aims at getting P&W assets attached

The aircraft lessors were taking an irrational action of repossessing the aircrafts and approaching the NCLT is only way to protect the assets as we will seek moratorium under the IBC. Under this process, the airline can retain its assets and come back to normal levels as it is a viable business

- Kaushik Khona, CEO, Go Airlines

Chennai: The Wadia group’s low-cost airline Go Airlines (India) Ltd will look at all legal options, including that of freezing/attaching the Indian assets of the US-based aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney, said a top airline official.

He also categorically said the airline is filing an insolvency petition with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is not a ruse to get loan write offs but mainly to safeguard/retain the aircrafts so that the lessors do not repose them.

“We have started the steps for the execution of the award. We have filed a case in the US,” Kaushik Khona, Chief Executive Officer told in an interview.

Khona said the airline is also identifying jurisdictions in Japan, Singapore, Europe and the US to file cases against Pratt & Whitney which is refusing to comply with an award issued by an emergency arbitrator appointed in accordance with the 2016 Arbitration Rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).

Asked whether the company is looking at filing a case in India against Pratt & Whitney to attach its properties here, Khona said the company will evaluate that option as well. He said the airline is to get the engines for the 27 aircrafts that are now grounded due to engine faults and legal action will be taken in the jurisdictions where Pratt & Whitney has the engines. According to Khona, we need the engines and for that the arbitration award has to be enforced and Pratt & Whitney does not have an MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul) set up in India.

Go Airlines has filed a case in a court in Delaware in the US against Pratt & Whitney to enforce the arbitration award, and Khona said the case will be decided soon. “That order (arbitration award) directed Pratt & Whitney to take all the reasonable steps to release and dispatch without delay to Go First at least 10 serviceable spare leased engines by April 27, 2023 and a further 10 spare leased engines per month until December 2023, with the objective of Go First returning to full operations and achieving its financial rehabilitation and survival,” Go Airlines said.

Dismissing the Pratt & Whitney's charge that Go Airlines has a lengthy history of missing its financial obligations to it as false, Khona added that if that is the case why would the emergency arbitrator order that the engine maker should not ask for any deposit from the airline and give the engines without any cost.

On the issue of approaching the NCLT, Khona said it is not an insolvency petition but a petition for resolution as the business is viable.