The IPO will be crucial for the debt-laden No. 2 airline of India, which is losing money and is planning to rely on proceeds from the share sale to repay debt and dues to creditors including Indian Oil Corp.
Go First, previously known as GoAir, had obligations of about ₹81.6 billion as of April 2021, as per the draft preliminary prospectus.
Go First's share sale comes as air travel is rebounding in the South Asian country driven by pent-up demand as people emerge from one of the deadliest outbreaks of the virus.
India, the world’s fastest-growing major aviation market before Covid-19, expects local traffic to exceed pre-pandemic levels of 415,000 daily fliers within a year.
Indian airlines are also adding capacity to capture a revival as international flights resume.
Go First, which ranks second after Indigo, expects to lose the No. 2 spot when Tata Sons Pvt merges its airlines – Vistara, Air India Ltd and AirAsia India.
Go First is expecting to turn profitable this quarter, boosted by a surge in demand for leisure travel, the report added.
To capture the travel rebound, Go First will reportedly begin adding 10 new Airbus SE A320neo aircraft starting August, bringing its total fleet count to 62 by March 2023.
The airline has 144 A320neo jets on order. Go First will use the new aircraft to increase flight frequency on routes to Abu Dhabi and Kuwait, and to add more destinations in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia.
Last month, Go First had appointed Girish Advani as its Chief Commercial Officer. Advani has moved to the airline from Wadia Group, where he was serving as Vice President for Corporate Affairs.
He succeeded Praveen Iyer, who quit the company in September 2020 just after seven months of joining the carrier.
