New Delhi:
There's no end to the Jet Airways crisis. On Wednesday, day two of the strike, 200 flights have been cancelled and more than 400 pilots called in sick, leaving thousands of passengers affected. On Tuesday, 360 had called in sick.
Over 14,000 passengers were affected by the strike on Wednesday and the Jet management claimed 50 per cent had been accommodated. Already, 172 domestic and 32 international flights had been cancelled on Wednesday.
Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal met the Aviation Minister in Delhi. The management of the airline will be meeting the pilots later on Wednesday and appears to be in no mood to relent. The pilots have also dug in their heels and insist that they will not fly unless Jet reinstates their colleagues who have been sacked after they tried to set up a trade union.
The agitating Jet Airways pilots said in Delhi that they were "not under any pressure" after airline chairman Naresh Goyal threatened to close down operations due to the ongoing crisis.
Gireesh Kaushik, President of National Aviator Guild, held the airline management responsible for the passengers' woes.
"We just want our voice back in the company. We want back our two colleagues who were sacked. It (passengers' problems) is not due to us. We are trying to bring the situation back to normal," Kaushik, who arrived here to meet DGCA officials to put forth his union's views, said.
Asked whether they were under pressure after Goyal's statement that he is ready to close down operations of the airlines, he said "We are not under any pressure."
On the probability of imposition of ESMA, he said whatever they want to impose, they can do it. "We are going in honest direction," Kaushik said.
He said it was not a strike as each one of the pilots had joined the agitation of their own accord.
The Jet Airways management meanwhile held a press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday, saying they were trying to end the pilots' protest as soon as possible and that their focus was on minimising problems for their passengers.
The Jet CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer and COO Captain Hameed Ali made a statement and answered question from the media.
The honchos said, 14,000 people had been booked for flights on Wednesday, the second day of the pilots' strike, and 50 per cent had been accommodated. On Tuesday, 80 per cent passengers had been accommodated and 20 per cent had been given refunds, they claimed.
On the second day of the strike, 432 pilots had stayed away from work, the management said, terming the act as irresponsible. They said the strike notice had been withdrawn, but later over 300 pilots went on mass sick leave, giving the management no time to prepare.
They said the main tool of communication was the Jet Airways website which was constantly being updated. Text messages were also being sent to passengers. Jet had also set up a crisis management centre to help passengers.
The Jet management thanked other carriers for their support.
What will you do if you are flying Jet:
For passengers already booked on Jet Airways this is what you have to do:
Over 14,000 passengers were affected by the strike on Wednesday and the Jet management claimed 50 per cent had been accommodated. Already, 172 domestic and 32 international flights had been cancelled on Wednesday.
Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal met the Aviation Minister in Delhi. The management of the airline will be meeting the pilots later on Wednesday and appears to be in no mood to relent. The pilots have also dug in their heels and insist that they will not fly unless Jet reinstates their colleagues who have been sacked after they tried to set up a trade union.
The agitating Jet Airways pilots said in Delhi that they were "not under any pressure" after airline chairman Naresh Goyal threatened to close down operations due to the ongoing crisis.
Gireesh Kaushik, President of National Aviator Guild, held the airline management responsible for the passengers' woes.
"We just want our voice back in the company. We want back our two colleagues who were sacked. It (passengers' problems) is not due to us. We are trying to bring the situation back to normal," Kaushik, who arrived here to meet DGCA officials to put forth his union's views, said.
Asked whether they were under pressure after Goyal's statement that he is ready to close down operations of the airlines, he said "We are not under any pressure."
On the probability of imposition of ESMA, he said whatever they want to impose, they can do it. "We are going in honest direction," Kaushik said.
He said it was not a strike as each one of the pilots had joined the agitation of their own accord.
The Jet Airways management meanwhile held a press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday, saying they were trying to end the pilots' protest as soon as possible and that their focus was on minimising problems for their passengers.
The Jet CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer and COO Captain Hameed Ali made a statement and answered question from the media.
The honchos said, 14,000 people had been booked for flights on Wednesday, the second day of the pilots' strike, and 50 per cent had been accommodated. On Tuesday, 80 per cent passengers had been accommodated and 20 per cent had been given refunds, they claimed.
On the second day of the strike, 432 pilots had stayed away from work, the management said, terming the act as irresponsible. They said the strike notice had been withdrawn, but later over 300 pilots went on mass sick leave, giving the management no time to prepare.
They said the main tool of communication was the Jet Airways website which was constantly being updated. Text messages were also being sent to passengers. Jet had also set up a crisis management centre to help passengers.
The Jet management thanked other carriers for their support.
What will you do if you are flying Jet:
For passengers already booked on Jet Airways this is what you have to do:
- Call up the Jet Airways helpline or check their website to see if your flight has been cancelled.
- If it has been cancelled, you will be accommodated in Jetlite, Spice Jet or Indian Airlines.
- If Jet can't accommodate you, you can get a full refund, but the airline says they are trying to accommodate most of the passengers.
