Jet Airways shares fly higher for 3rd session; here’s why

Shares of Jet Airways extended their gaining streak for the third straight session on Monday, hitting a 5% upper circuit on the BSE, after the airline received clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs after a successful test flight. In contrast, the BSE Sensex declined as much as 918 points, or 1.7%, to 53,918 levels during the trade so far.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has reportedly granted security clearance to Jet Airways, which plans to relaunch its commercial flight operation in the coming months. Last Thursday, the airline conducted a test flight to and from the Hyderabad airport, its first since April 2019, when it was grounded as it went bankrupt. The airline is expected to resume operations in a new avatar soon. But it is expected to face fierce competition from other players such as IndiGo, SpiceJet, Air India, Vistara, and others.

Extending gains for the third consecutive session, Jet Airways shares rose as much as 4.97% to touch an intraday high of ₹95.05 on the BSE, against the previous closing price of ₹90.55. On Friday, the airline stock had also hit 5% upper circuit after the company completed its first test flight in nearly three years. The stock has risen more than 10% in the past three sessions.

With a market capitalisation of ₹1,079.7 crore, the stock is trading 28.5% lower than its 52-week high of ₹133.10 touched on June 30, 2021. Jet Airways share had hit its 52-week low of ₹65.10 on July 20, 2021.

The Jalan-Kalrock Consortium, the new promoters of Jet Airways, had taken over the airline in October 2020 through the corporate insolvency resolution process. Murari Lal Jalan is a Dubai-based NRI businessman and Kalrock Capital is a financial advisory and asset management company. The consortium is awaiting regulatory clearance to resume operations.

Last Thursday, the carrier conducted its test flight to and from the Hyderabad airport in a bid to obtain the air operator certificate from the Indian regulatory body, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). After the test flight, the airline has to conduct proving flights, similar to commercial flights, with DGCA officials and airline officials as passengers and cabin crew members on board to secure the air operator certificate.

Jet Airways, once India's biggest private carrier founded by Naresh Goyal in early 1990s, eased operations in April 2019 due to financial woes.