The Mumbai high court has refused German flagship carrier Deutsche Lufthansas petition, seeking repossession of its three grounded Boeing 737-200 aircraft. All the three aircraft are under court custody. Rejecting the petition, which was filed on March 14, the high court has said that Lufthansa is not entitled to any further relief.
Lufthansa spokesperson, Kavin Sethi, told Business Standard that the airline will now seek legal counsel on its next step. Lufthansa will continue its litigation till such time that the three Boeing 737-200 aircraft belonging to it are returned to their rightful owner so that they can be put to more profitable use, he said.
The three Boeings had been dry-leased by Lufthansa to the Delhi-based ModiLuft, following a technical collaboration forged between the two in 1993. The alliance, however, was severed last year when the German carrier claimed unpaid lease and other dues to the tune of over Rs 100 crore.
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Following a petition filed by Lufthansa on October 31 last year, the three Boeings were grounded on November 6. It filed another petition in December for relief, citing the need for immediate aircraft maintenance checks. All three aircraft, one stranded in Bangalore and two in Delhi, required C checks.
Acting on the petition, the first aircraft in Bangalore was sealed by the court receiver on February 8, while the remaining two in Delhi were sealed on February 13.
According to Sethi, the aircraft stranded in Bangalore had been taken there by ModiLuft for a C check by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) but since ModiLuft did not pay HAL, the Boeing remained in the custody of HAL till the court receiver took it over in February.
Absence of regular maintenance checks is bound to affect the airworthiness of the aircraft which is the reason behind Lufthansa pressing for repossession of the aircraft concerned, Sethi added.
However, Lufthansa has no plans to use the Boeings for its own operations since it is phasing out Boeing 737-200s.