Jet Airways Wants Livery Removed From Old Aircraft Taken By SpiceJet

India’s soon-to-be-relaunched airline Jet Airways is not happy that some of SpiceJet’s Boeing 737 airplanes still carry Jet’s livery from their previous service with the airline. Jet has now requested India’s aviation regulator, the DGCA, to take immediate action and get the livery removed, ideally before it begins operations in September.

Second stint

Since 2019, frequent air travelers in India may have noticed SpiceJet written on some Boeing 737 aircraft, which otherwise are in an unmistakable former Jet Airways livery. While this may have gone relatively unnoticed in the last couple of years, the issue has been brought to the DGCA’s notice by the soon-to-be-launched Jet Airways.

When Jet Airways went down in 2019, SpiceJet didn’t blink an eye before acquiring several of its 737s, as it was in an aggressive expansion mode. Within weeks, images began surfacing of SpiceJet repainting some of Jet Airways’ airplanes but not quite giving them a complete makeover.

Since then, it has been flying those planes with its name painted on the fuselage but leaving all the previous Jet’s color scheme pretty much intact.

DGCA asked to take action

With Jet Airways soon to revive operations in the second half of the year, it wants SpiceJet to remove any visual reference of the airline’s brand identity from its planes. In a letter to the regulator, Jet has written,

“It has come to our notice that many of the airplanes continue to fly in full Jet Airways’ colours on the fuselage and tail with our name blanked off and overwritten by decals … Also, the Jet Airways logo on the tail has been painted over, but is still discernible if one looks carefully.”

The letter highlights the safety hazards with such aircraft, stating that it can confuse ground staff and crew operating other aircraft about the identity of the airplane in question, for example, when following ATC directions.

Jet has requested the DGCA “to issue necessary directions to all operators to use only their own authorized livery as filed with the DGCA compulsorily, and to remove all vestiges of other airline liveries from their aircraft.”

It has requested the regulator to speed up the process ahead of its launch, stating,

“As we plan to begin operations in September and expect to have aircraft in our livery delivered to us in July this year, an early action from your good office to ensure all such unauthorized liveries are removed by July would be highly appreciated.”

Brand protection

Jet Airways was a well-established airline brand in India. Even now, as it prepares to restart operations, the carrier hopes to count on that brand value to attract former Jet loyalists and new passengers.

The airline is worried that SpiceJet flying some of its airplanes in Jet’s livery has the potential to mislead the public about the identity of the operator. Jet Airways aircraft had distinct blue and ochre colors and a “flying sun” logo on its tail, which can still be seen on several SpiceJet planes.

Jet Airways is worried that SpiceJet planes carrying its livery could mislead customers. Photo: Getty Images

Jet cites the example of the infamous runway excursion of SpiceJet’s 737 at Mumbai Airport in 2019, which incidentally involved a former Jet aircraft. The images were widely circulated in media, showing the plane in Jet’s colors with a collapsed nose wheel at the end of Mumbai airport’s runway.

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