Update: According to the aviation regulator DGCA, the crisis-hit airline, Go First has stopped selling tickets till May 15 and has cancelled all the flights till May 9. Airline now, is attempting to refund or reschedule current orders for other dates. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a show-reason notice to the airline after it unexpectedly decided to suspend flights for three days beginning on May 3.And as of right now, according to a statement from the regulatory body, “Go First has intimated that they have suspended the sale of their flights until May 15, 2023, and are working to refund or reschedule for future dates, the passengers already booked to fly with them.”According to reports, the Wadia Group-owned airline has applied for voluntary insolvency resolution procedures at the National Company Law Tribunal.Go First Airlines suspends all flights till May 5, starting todayGo First Airlines stated on Tuesday that all of its scheduled flights will be cancelled from May 3 to May 5. The airline also stated that all customers will receive a full refund. According to reports, the decision was made as a result of oil marketing businesses unpaid debts. The airlines cash flow has been severely impacted as a result of the forced grounding of more than half of its fleet owing to ongoing problems and the non-supply of engines for its Airbus A320 neo aircraft from Pratt & Whitney.Following the crisis, the Wadia-group-owned airline has been in discussions with several investors and is looking for a strategic investor in the business. The airline promised to reimburse all tickets when the time comes. The airline has previously disputed claims that the ultra-low-cost carriers owner, the Wadia Group, is looking to quit the aviation industry by selling a part of the firm.Out of the 57 aircraft in the airlines fleet, Go First has been operating daily with 28, with the other eight grounded because of issues with engines made by the American company Pratt & Whitney.Go First Airlines, formerly known as Go Air, has a 9 percent market share in domestic air travel in India. In April 2023, it had an average passenger load factor of 94.5 percent.The airline also posted its biggest annual loss in fiscal 2022 and has been facing operational problems in the past few months. Reportedly, the reason was that half of the aircraft were grounded due to disruptions in the supply chain related to Pratt & Whitney jet engines.The government is assisting Go First Airlines in every way possible, but the airline must find alternate means of transportation for customers to avoid disruption, according to Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.Due to operational reasons, GoFirst flights for 3rd, 4th and 5th May 2023 have been cancelled. We sincerely apologise to our loyal customers. Please visit https://t.co/qRNQ4oQROr for more information. We assure that well be back with more information soon. #GoFirst pic.twitter.com/QAJlL017QS— GO FIRST (@GoFirstairways) May 2, 2023Notably, the DGCA requested a response from Go First Airlines within 24 hours of the show cause notices issuance. In this regard, Go First Airlines stated that operations will remain cancelled due to the non-supply of engines by the US-based Jet engines manufacturer.Airlines report Zero complaints The cash-strapped domestic airline Go First has reported zero passenger complaints and the lowest cancellation in the first three months of 2023. “In January, the airline had no complaints from passengers and had a cancellation rate of only 0.5 percent. The cancellation rate was 0.04 percent in February, and there were no passenger complaints. Passenger complaints were nil in March, while the cancellation rate was 0.04 percent,” according to the DGCAs data.“Go First has a passenger load factor of 90.9 percent in January, and it rises to 93.1 percent in February. However, the number of departures fell from 6,242 in January to 5619 in February,” it continued.As per sources, the low-cost air carrier Go First has filed an application with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for resolution under Section 10 of the Insolvency Bankruptcy Code. Apart from this, the company also informed DGCA that all the flights of the airlines will remain cancelled from May 3 to 5.Go First has a lengthy history of financial obligations: P&WThe sources claim that after Go First Airlines filed for bankruptcy and accused the manufacturer of jet engines Pratt & Whitney (P&W) of grounding half of its fleet, the US-based aerospace firm retaliated by claiming that airlines have a long history of missing payments.The US engine manufacturer said in a statement that “It was committed to the success of its airline clients and that it would continue to give all customers delivery schedules top priority. P&W is abiding by the March 2023 arbitration decision concerning Go First. We wont say anything more because the situation is now being litigated.”
