AIR INDIA LTD. Vs. GATI LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These are two petitions under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("Act") challenging the unanimous Award dated 17th September 2013 of a three member Arbitral Tribunal ("AT") in the disputes between the parties.

(2.) A wet lease freighter agreement ("WLA") was entered into between GATI Ltd. ("GATI") and Indian Airlines Ltd. ("IAL") for lease of five freighter Boeing 737-200 aircrafts. As a result of the merger of IAL with Air India Ltd. ("Air India"), all the rights, interest, duties, liabilities and obligations of IAL and Air India have been vested in the National Aviation Company of India Ltd. ("NACIL").

(3.) Air India owned old Boeing 737-200 aircrafts which were operated by its passenger flight service called Alliance Air. Since the aircrafts were not in good shape from the point of view of safety and security, Air India decided to convert them into cargo freighters. Proposals were invited by Air India from interested parties to block space in the said cargo freighters which were to be operated under the "hub and spoke" pattern. An offer was submitted by GATI on 9th April 2007, and its acceptance resulted in the WLA being entered into between the parties on 16th May 2007. Relevant clauses of the WLA