Air India To Give A Facelift To Vijay Mallya's Private Jet Before It Goes Under The Hammer

Almost 3 yrs after plane was sealed off overnight, AI Engg Services put in charge of tidying up fungus, roach-infested aircraft before May auction.

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Almost three years after Vijay Mallya's swanky Kingfisher Airline private jet was sealed off by the service tax department, the jet has undergone a makeover under the watchful eyes of Air India's engineering services so that it is in its best shape before it goes under the hammer in May.

The Airbus jet 319, labelled VT-VJM after the liquor baron's initials, was once described as one of the world's most luxurious private aircraft.

Mallya bought it for $25 million and spent another $2 million on fixtures and improvements for the bar, dining room, bedroom, washroom and a business section. He used to keep four Picasso paintings and other expensive artefacts, including a picture of Lord Balaji that had 15 solitaries embedded in the forehead tikka.

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However, after he failed to pay $28 million in service taxes, the service tax department had taken possession of the aircraft and sealed it off overnight.

While the service tax department is wellversed with crunching numbers, the need to rope in Air India Engineering Services Limited arose due to the former's lack of expertise in dealing with aircraft maintenance. Answering queries posed by prospective bidders wanting to examine the minute details of the aircraft, including opening up certain panels for scrutiny, will now be dealt with by the aircraft engineers during the auction to be held on May 12 and 13.

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The engineering company has already finished cleaning both the exterior and interiors of the aircraft. Officials informed that while the furniture was in good condition, the exterior showed signs of it being grounded for a long time. The aircraft engines and landing gear too need intense repairs.

"As it (the aircraft) was sealed overnight 18 months ago, the kitchen could not be emptied and it had fungus all over, making it an ugly sight for prospective bidders. Workers carried out an intense cleaning exercise so that the 22-seater Airbus 319 would look its best," an airport official revealed.

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Engineers working on the aircraft told Mirror that there was no major problem with the aircraft. "Since it remained on ground, preservation, which includes oiling, was not done," they said, adding that the successful bidder will be responsible for making it airworthy and flying it out based on input provided by the aircraft manufacturer.

Airport officials disclosed that while the diamond-studded Lord Balaji and the Picasso art work was gone, there were several photos of god and goddesses, besides one of Mallya's children -Sidhartha, Leana and Tanya - that still adorned the walls of the aircraft, which is currently worth awhopping $88 million.

The aircraft was priced at $61,093,550 when Mallya had bought it. It's standard equipment cost $33,321,040 and customised equipment cost $27,772,510, when purchased in November 2006. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) records shows the owner as C J Leasing (Cayman) Ltd, located in the tax haven of the Grand Cayman islands indicating a sale and lease-back arrangement.

When Vijay Mallya's Personal Jet Was Auctioned Off

Mallya, who has been declared a wilful defaulter and whose companies owe over Rs 9,000 crore to 17 banks, left the country on March 4 and is now in the United Kingdom. On April 24, the ministry of external affairs revoked his passport pressing for the businessman's deportation.