Jet Airways CEO’s throwback picture from 2009 reminds netizens of airlines India LOST

Sanjiv Kapoor shared a picture from 2009 on Twitter, showing the planes from airlines like Kingfisher, Deccan, Jet and IndiGo, all parked at an airport.

Image: Twitter/ Sanjiv Kapoor

Much like Anand Mahindra, who keeps sharing interesting anecdotes and content related to the Indian automotive industry on Twitter, Jet Airways CEO, and aviation enthusiast Sanjiv Kapoor, who has previously worked for Vistara and SpiceJet, is also active on the micro-blogging site and share interesting tweets related to the Indian aviation industry. He is also vocal about various aviation related incidents and recently gave his insights and opinion on a viral video from an IndiGo flight, where a cabin crew got into a heated argument with a passenger over the meal served on the Istanbul-Delhi flight. 

On December 24 (Saturday), Sanjiv Kapoor has shared yet another interesting post on Twitter. He shared a few photographs of planes parked at an airport from 2009, which, if seen closely, reminds us about the sad history of the Indian aviation industry. In a tweet captioned, "Flashback to Dec 24, 2009" Kapoor shared two photographs, one showing an Air India's Airbus A320 plane wearing the old livery of the then government owned airline, with orange and blue paint job. The current livery of Air India consists red and white colour scheme.

Flashback to Dec 24, 2009. pic.twitter.com/JRVmE7c926

— Sanjiv Kapoor (@TheSanjivKapoor) December 24, 2022

However, the photograph that draws our attention is the second pic with multiple planes parked at an airport, which seems like the Delhi International Airport. As seen in the image, multiple planes belonging to brands like Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, IndiGo Airlines, and Deccan Airlines are parked. What's sad is the fact that 3 out of these 4 airlines visible in the image are now defunct and non operational.

Later, he shared yet another tweet, with individual photos of some of the older airlines in India, including Indian Airlines, which is now Air India, Air Sahara, yet another airline that's not in operations anymore among others.

And some more... pic.twitter.com/Y2EruiNXtg

— Sanjiv Kapoor (@TheSanjivKapoor) December 24, 2022

The business of aviation is not an easy one with multiple safety related protocols in place and the dependency on the government for rules related to flying. Among the three defunct airlines, Jet Airways is now making a comeback under the ownership of Jalan-Kalrock consortium, however, has missed several deadlines due to delays in the transfer of ownership due to certain disputes being reviewed by the courts. 

On the other hand, IndiGo airline is now the largest domestic air carrier in India, with over 55 percent market share. The next big airlines, like Vistara and Air India are close to 10 percent in market share only. As per the latest numbers shared by DGCA, domestic passenger traffic has hit an all-time high, and during November 2022, 117 lakh passengers travelled in India on flights.

In 2022, India also saw a new entrant in terms of Akasa Air, started by late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. Also, with Tata Group buying Air India from the government, the former national airline is making drastic changes and aims to gain newer heights. Tata Group is now the largest aviation conglomerate in the country with four airlines under the umbrella - Vistara, AirAsia India, Air India Express and Air India.