As Jet Airways' Trouble Continues, Here Are Other Airlines That Shut Shop From The Indian Skies

Jet Airways is struggling a great deal and we're all aware of it. Thankfully, it got a second lease of life after SBI-backed lenders took control of the airlines. Still, the airlines, that once had over 100 planes, are operating just 15 flights. Reports suggest the cash-starved airline won't make past April if the lenders won't release Rs 15,000 crore as emergency funding to keep it afloat.

Jet, which in its prime, was the second largest private airline in India, is the latest player in the aviation industry to have run into financial troubles.

In fact, ever since the skies were open for private players, it has been a bloodbath of sorts and companies, one after one bowed out, after incurring massive debts.

Here's a lowdown on the airlines that couldn't continue their operations after incurring financial losses.

Vayudoot

Vayudoot was set up in 1981 as a joint venture between Indian Airlines, and Air India. The airline which was headquartered in New Delhi was aimed at increasing connectivity to the Northeast, though it flew to other parts of the country too.

However, mounting operational costs and low occupancy of seats meant that the airline was bleeding money. After it became unsustainable to operate, the government pulled the plug on Vayudoot in 1997.

East-West Airlines

East-West Airlines was the first scheduled private airline in India to take off the ground after the Open Skies policy was announced in 1991. It had a fleet of eleven aircraft and operated to cities including Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, and Trivandrum.

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The company was dealt a major blow in 1995 when its Chairman, Thakiyudeen Wahid was shot dead near his office. The company which was already in financial troubles ceased operations in 1996.

Damania Airways

Damania Airways was founded in 1992 by two brothers, Parvez Damania and Vispi Damania. The company which was based in Mumbai, began operations in 1993 and had a fleet of 5 aircrafts and flew to cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Indore. The company ceased operations in 1997, just four years after it began.

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ModiLuft

ModiLuft was a private airline launched as a partnership between industrialist S K Modi and German air carrier Lufthansa in 1993. Despite having a good track record for flight safety, ground maintenance and on-time performance, Modiluft was a short lived partnership.

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It had a fleet size of just six aircraft and ended operations in 1996. Ajay Singh who bought the air-operating certificate (AOC) of ModiLuft in 2004, renamed the airline as SpiceJet.

Sahara Airlines

Sahara Airlines, owned by Subrata Roy, was founded in 1993 and was based in New Delhi. It was rebranded as ¡°Air Sahara¡± in 2001. In its prime, the airline flew to about 20 destinations and controlled about 12 percent of the market.

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In 2003, Air Sahara became the first private Indian airline to offer direct flights to Colombo. In 2007, Air Sahara was acquired by Naresh Goyal's Jet Airways and was rebranded as JetLite.

Archana Airways

Archana Airways was a private airline based out of New Delhi. Though founded in 1991, Archana Airways began flying only in 1993, to a handful of North Indian cities. Much like other small airlines, Archana Airways which had a fleet of 9 was plagued with financial losses and ended operations in 2000.

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Air Deccan

Air Deccan founded by Captain Gopinath is credited being the first 'budget airline' in India and gave wings to the dream of many Indians to fly. The Bengaluru-based company began operations in 2003 and had a fleet of 40. In 2007, after Vijay Mallya purchased the stake in the company it was renamed as Simplifly Deccan and later as Kingfisher Red.

Paramount Airways

Paramount Airways was based in Chennai and began operations in 2005. M Thiagarajan, a pilot, was just 27 when he floated Paramount Airways and was said to be the youngest airline CEO in the world. The company ran into trouble with Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer, which was its supplier and ceased operations in 2010.

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Kingfisher Airlines

Probably the most high profile entry in this list is Kingfisher Airlines, which was founded by Vijay Mallya in 2005. Ever since its inception, Kingfisher was on an expansion spree, buying Air Deccan in 2007 and a fleet of 34 aircrafts.

In 2011, Kingfisher had the second largest share in India's domestic air travel market. Following massive financial losses and failed attempts to rescue it, Kingfisher went out of business in 2012.

Air Pegasus

Air Pegasus was founded in 2014, began operation in 2015 and closed down in 2017.

The Bengaluru-based company flew just three flights covering eight cities, mostly in South India. Following a default in lease payments, DGCA deregistered the airline's entire fleet in October 2016. The company never recovered from it and ceased operations in 2017.