Jet Airways works out ‘amicable’ deal with on-strike pilots; flights resume
After frantic negotiations between the Jet Airways' management and the National Aviators' Guild, the five-day agitation by the pilots of the private carrier came to an end on Sunday morning.
In a post-agreement statement, Jet Airways said that all international flights would resume with immediate effect on Sunday; while domestic flights would resume by Monday afternoon.
Saying that an 'amicable' deal had been worked out with the on-strike pilots, Jet Airways added that the four pilots sacked last month had been recalled; and that a consultative group - comprising two board directors; the airlines' CEO and five representatives of the pilots - had also been formed to address labor-related issues, if any, in the future.
As per a statement by the Jet Airways' executive director Saroj Dutta, the short-lived strike, which began September 8, would not impede the carrier's plans to raise $400 million for funding aircraft purchases.
However, specifying further, Dutta said that the strike had cost the airline nearly $12 million, in the form of loss of revenue loss on ticket sales during the five days of the strike.
Dutta elaborated that, prior to the disruption in services, the airline's daily revenue figures were nearly $8 million; and added: "We saved some on variable costs in our operating costs such as fuel, landing charges. So there were mutual costs saved."