Jet Airways’ pilots are expected to take a final call soon, if the cash-strapped Airline is unable to pay the partial salary that it owes to them, on the committed date.
In the process of trying to tide over the financial crisis that it is facing, Jet Airways was paying salaries to its staff in instalments, in a staggered manner. However, it has not been able to follow the schedule that it had drawn up for the payment of salaries in December, following which the National Aviator’s Guild discussed the current situation at an open house meeting.
The pilots are expected to take a final call if the Airline defaults on the payment scheduled for February.
The Airline is attempting to arrange the cash required to handle the present cash crunch. It has already managed to secure Rs 250 crore through advance sale of redemption miles to its associate firm. It is also negotiating with lenders for short-term loans.
The Jet management now approves of offering the Jet Privilege Private (JPPL) loyalty programme to other carriers. JPPL sells miles to Jet Airways as well as its partner airlines, banks and hotels. However, till now, an exclusivity clause prevented it from selling miles to any other airline which is not a partner of Jet. With the clause now being renounced, JPPL is now free to introduce other airlines as partners and even manage their loyalty programmes.
A resolution plan is also being negotiated with Etihad Airways, the strategic partner of Jet. It is expected that banks will put fresh capital into the Airline and convert debt into equity.
