Jet Airways Crisis: Trouble seems to be mounting for grounded air-career Jet Airways as it's Chief Executive Officer Vinay Dube has tendered his resignation on Tuesday with immediate effect. Dube’s resignation came just a day after Jet’s Deputy CEO and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) quit the company. In a filing to stock exchanges, the cash-strapped airlines said that Dube has resigned from the services of the company with immediate effect citing personal reasons. An Indian-American, Dube had joined Jet Airways in August 2017 after serving various roles at Delta Airlines, Sabre Inc and American Airlines in the US, Europe and Asia.

Dube had stepped in the position after almost 15 months of the departure of the then chief executive Crammer Ball. During the period Agarwal officiated the position as acting CEO. The exit of the three top executives comes amid the consortium of lenders-led by the State Bank of India - struggling to find a buyer for the airline, which ceased operations around a mid-last month due to acute liquidity crisis.

The lenders, whom Jet Airways owe over Rs 8,000 crore in debt, are offering 31.2 per cent-75 per cent stake in the company on a fully diluted basis. SBI Caps, the merchant banking arm of the SBI, had on behalf of the 26 lenders consortium invited expressions of interest between April 8 - 12, and received four preliminary bids. These 26 lenders own 51 per cent stake in the airline.

After the first round of bids, private equity firms IndiGo Partners and TPG, Etihad Airways and the sovereign fund NIIF were shortlisted. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways submitted its sealed bid to acquire a minority stake in Jet Airways with a lot of riders that involved finding more investors, leaving little hope for the airline's survival.

"Etihad re-emphasises that it cannot be expected to be the sole investor, and that, amongst other requirements, additional suitable investors would need to provide the majority of Jet's required recapitalisation," Etihad said in a statement on May 10, which was the last date for submission of bids.

(With agency inputs)