The National Company Law Tribunal’s Mumbai bench has dismissed Jet Airways’ liquidator’s bid to recover about $92.13 million from Boeing over aircraft that were never delivered. The dispute centres on advance and pre-delivery payments tied to 2013 orders for Boeing 737-8 and 787-9 aircraft, with the tribunal finding the matter fell outside its insolvency jurisdiction and required fuller contractual adjudication.
Boeing suspended the agreements in May 2019 over payment delays and later terminated them. Jet Airways’ liquidator argued that the advance payments should form part of the liquidation estate and be refunded. Boeing countered that the sums had already been adjusted against its admitted claim and set off under liquidation rules.
The ruling does not determine the final ownership of the money, but it leaves the parties to pursue the underlying contractual issues elsewhere. It also highlights the narrow scope of the tribunal’s powers under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in disputes involving complex aircraft purchase agreements and large pre-delivery payments.