Some members of parliament have dashed off a letter (a copy of which is available with The Financial Express) to the Ministry of Civil Aviation questioning the supposed compliance of Jet Airways with the civil aviation policy guidelines.

The issue of Jet's ownership pattern has cropped up after a gap of more than a year.

The letter questions the composition of the board of directors of Tailwinds, the overseas corporate body registered in the Isle of Mann which owns Jet Airways.

The letter has further pointed out that the Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways is violating most of the provisions of the new guidelines.

"The board of directors of Tailwinds still has representation of the following key personnel from Gulf Air and Kuwait Airways" says the letter.

These personnel are Abdul Rehman Al-Busaidy, Abdul Kasim AbdulGaffar, B Sabeeh, Abdul Sahab H Bouday and A A Sane.

In another startling disclosure, the letter questions the disinvestment of 40 per cent equity in Jet Airways as per the earlier government guidelines, alleging that the equity has been picked-up by Bahrain Airport Services.

"It is believed that the 40 per cent equity held by Gulf Air and Kuwait Airways has been transferred to Bahrain Airport Services. Gulf Air has direct or indirect stake in Bahrain Airport Services," says the letter.

It is pointed out that the senior management of Jet Airways comprises of foreign airline officials, especially in engineering and operations.

The letter also points to the fact that Jet Airways is the GSA of Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, Airframe, Air Canada and other key on-line international airlines. "It is obvious that some commercial tie-up will continue to exist in indirect form" said the letter.

The MPs have urged Ministry of Civil Aviation to ask Jet Airways to give a transparent declaration that it has nofinancial or commercial tie-up or ownership interest with any foreign airline.

Jet Airways, which was started by Goyal, a former travel agent, in 1993, has grown by leaps and bounds. From a fleet of four Boeing 737-300 aircraft, the private airline now owns 19 aircraft.

It has placed $ 375 million worth of orders with Boeing company for 10 new aircraft.

Jet Airways has also taken an option for 10 more new advanced generation aircraft which could be Boeing 737-700s or 800s. By the turn of the century, subject to the requisite approvals, the airline plans to have a fleet of 28 to 30 new generation aircraft linking all important cities of tourist and business interest in the country.