JET AIRWAYS STAFF STAGE PROTEST AS FARES RISE
Authorities scramble to put more flights in air while employees press for rescue
PASSENGERS stranded, employees protesting on the streets of India’s capital and authorities scrambling to put more flights in the air — that’s the view on the ground after Jet Airways India Ltd pulled its final few aircraft from the sky.
Once India’s biggest airline by market value, Jet Airways’ dominance and profitability were slowly whittled away by competitors, whose no-frills options forced base fares down to as low as two cents. Since the start of this year, Jet Airways has scrambled for a capital infusion to meet payments to lenders, employees and aircraft lessors.
With no respite in sight, the carrier finally accepted defeat, saying on Wednesday all flights would be temporarily halted.
About a hundred people, including uniformed Jet Airways pilots, took to the streets, here, on Thursday to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene.
As they pressed for a rescue, airfares for domestic travellers are expected to climb 30 per cent on average as capacity is squeezed heading into a peak travel period, according to flightbooking website Yatra Online Pvt Ltd. Fares of some international routes have also spiked.
“Jet Airways is very important to the economy,” said Rajesh
Handa, a pilot with Jet Airways for 18 years. “We request the prime minister to come out and help us — not just us but the economy of the country.”
Jet Airways has 23,000 employees and scenes of staff and their families protesting are particularly concerning from Modi, who is in the middle of a six-week general election where opposition parties have hammered his government on its jobs record.
“There’s people whose families are completely dependent on this airline,” said Renu Rajora, a Jet Airways cabin crew member for the past five years.
Separately, the civil aviation ministry said on Wednesday it was assisting other airlines and airports to rapidly bring in capacity to ensure fares remain stable and competitive.
“It is indeed very sad to see Jet Airways grounded,” said Sharat Dhall, chief operating officer of the business-to-consumer segment at Yatra.
“Fares are likely to further go up if Jet Airways delays getting planes back in the air or the capacity gap is not filled by other carriers.
Fifteen-day advance fares had risen as much as 10 per cent compared with last year, while threeday advance fare levels had shot up by between 25 and 30 per cent with the grounding coming at a time of peak summer vacation demand, he said.