Paramount to pay $5.25 mn to UK firm

Paramount Airways, whose operations have been affected by a dispute over leasing of three aircraft, on Thursday offered to pay $5.25 million within six months to the UK-based lessor in the Supreme Court.

The offer by the Coimbatore-based Airway came in the wake of the suggestion of the apex court on March 30 that it could resume operation only on payment of $5.5 million (Rs 25 crore) in cash to UK-based GE Capital Aviation Service Ltd (GECAS) and Celestial Aviation from whom it had leased three Embraer planes.

The proposal to pay the amount in six installments was made before a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice Deepak Verma by senior advocate Abhishekh Singhvi appearing for the Paramount Airways.

The senior advocate, who placed the offer for the Airways before the Bench, sought permission for flying three planes out of a functional fleet of four which has been de-registered by civil aviation regulator DGCA following a dispute with its UK-based lessors.

The bench said it would hear the issue on Monday along with the main petition in which Paramount has challenged its deregistration by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

In the offer, the airline proposed to pay $0.5 million on five working days, followed by another $0.5 million on next ten working days. Thereafter, it would pay $1.04 million in 30 working days and $1.06 million after another 30 days. Then it would again pay $2.15 million in two installments of 45 days.