Mumbai-based Kingfisher Airlines Ltd filed a lawsuit against International Aero Engines (IAE) for defects in the planes' engines. Kingfisher sued the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Pratt & Whitney unit of United Technologies Corp for USD 234 million. The carrier said the V2500 A5 engines provided by IAE were defective.
Kingfisher cited engine problems as one of the reasons for their financial problems. In October last year employees walked out because their salaries were delayed. This led the carrier to ground its fleet. Service disruptions led the aviation regulator in India to suspend the carrier's permit. When Kingfisher defaulted on its payments, lessors repossessed their aircrafts. The Airports Authority of India had also filed a case against Kingfisher for failure to pay airport fees amounting to INR 3 billion.
Bloomberg reported that Kingfisher Chairman Vijay Mallya was talking with a potential investor to revive the carrier. As of March this year, Kingfisher had posted a net debt of INR 86.4 billion.
Join the Conversation