Jet resumes flights;offers 50% fare discount

Pilots at Jet Airways on Sunday resumed work ending a 5-day stir,after a settlement with the management under which four sacked pilots were reinstated and a consultative group from the two sides is to be set up to resolve issues through continuous dialogue.

A Jet Airways statement said an amicable agreement was reached and, effective Sunday, the airline would operate its full schedule of services in all sectors, with all crew members reporting for their normal rostered duties.

Prior to the stand-off, Jet’s revenue was around $8 million a day (Rs. 40 crore). It has lost Rs. 200 crore in five days. On an average, Jet carries 23,000 passengers a day, but bookings dropped to 14,000 on 8th September, and further down to 7,000 by 12th September.

Addressing journalists, Jet Executive Director Saroj Dutta said that after the discussions, a consultative group was put in place. It would include two Jet Airways Board members, the CEO, two representatives of flight operations and five representatives of the pilots. Captain Girish Kaushik, president of the Guild, apologised to the passengers for the hardship they faced and thanked the management for taking back the four sacked pilots.

Meanwhile, the Airlines announced a 50 per cent discount on its total fare in economy class across all domestic flights.

The discount fares are inclusive of basic fare and fuel surcharge but is not inclusive of Airport Development Fee, User Development Fee and passenger service fee, a company release said.

The offer is available on Jet Airways and its all-economy no-frills service, Jet Airways Konnect flights. But it does not include Jet Airways code share flights, the release said.

The sale of these special fares would be available between 14-16 September, it said, adding travel should be availed by 18th September.

"With these new low, limited-time fares, we hope to welcome travellers back aboard Jet Airways' and Jet Airways Konnect's extensive domestic services, which cover the length and breadth of the country between them," Jet Airways Chief Executive Officer, Wolfgang Prock-Schauer said.