Jet pilots appeal to SBI to release Rs 1500 cr, ask PM to save 20,000 jobs

The airline is operating just 6-7 planes, with almost its entire fleet being grounded due to non-payment of rentals to lessors amid severe paucity of cash.

Companies News: Jet Airways pilots body, the National Aviator’s Guild, Monday appealed the State Bank of India (SBI) to release Rs 1,500 crore, which was proposed to be infused in the ailing carrier as part of a debt-restructuring plan last month.

The airline is operating just 6-7 planes, with almost its entire fleet being grounded due to non-payment of rentals to lessors amid severe paucity of cash. “We would like to appeal SBI to release Rs 1,500 crore funds for the airline to help it continue operations. We also appeal Prime Minister Narendra Modi to save 20,000 odd jobs at the airline,” National Aviator’s Guild ( NAG) vice president Adim Valiani told reporters at the airline’s headquarter, Siroya Centre, here Monday.

Earlier, the airline’s pilots, engineers and cabin crew members assembled at the headquarters to show their solidarity. The airline’s pilots along with engineers and senior staff were last paid for December, 2018. This apart, the airline has also defaulted on the March salary of other categories of employees as well. Last month, an SBI-led consortium of lenders had taken management control of the airline post a debt-recast deal, following which the lenders had proposed to infuse as much as Rs 1,500 crore to the carrier to keep it afloat till the time it gets a investor.

The Monday meeting with lenders is reportedly expected to take a final decision on the quantum of funds to be infused immediately to avert a possible shut down. A meeting between the airline management and its major lender SBI last Friday could not take a decision on the fund infusion issue…

Boeing 737 MAX adopts safety feature earlier sold as option after crashes

The development comes as the manufacturer struggles to cope with the fallout from both the Indonesia crash and another in Ethiopia this month

International News: Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft will be outfitted with a warning light for malfunctions in the anti-stall system suspected in October’s fatal crash in Indonesia, an industry source told AFP Thursday, standardizing a feature previously sold as an optional extra.

The development comes as the manufacturer struggles to cope with the fallout from both the Indonesia crash and another in Ethiopia this month, which have cast a spotlight on the safety certification process and shaken confidence in a plane that is crucial to its future plans.

Known as a “disagree light,” this safety feature will become standard and is among the modifications the company will present to US authorities and clients in the coming days, the source said on condition of anonymity. Neither the Lion Air aircraft crashed in Indonesia, nor the Ethiopian Airlines jet, had the feature, the source said. More than 300 people perished in the two cases.

American Airlines, which operates 24 737 MAX 8, had bought the option, anticipating potential malfunctions, a source close to the matter told AFP. So too had Southwest Airlines, the plane’s biggest customer, which also bought an additional “Primary Flight Display” option, according to a spokesperson.

Holidaying this long weekend? Railway over flight is the traveller's choice

However, attractive pricing has given airlines an edge over the railways among youngsters

It is widely believed that the Indian railways is struggling to retain its customer base, which it is losing to various airlines. However, if the numbers are to be believed, the rail route is still the most favoured mode of transport for weekend travellers.

According to industry estimates, approximately 1.5 million Indians will be taking flights over the coming weekend starting from August 12, while the number of people travelling in non-suburban trains alone will come to around 44 million. Last year, during the same time, the railways carried 42 million passengers, while airlines carried only 1.2 million.

economy news

"While about 1.5 million Indians will be travelling via flights over the four-day-long weekend, people travelling in non-suburban trains (intercity) will be around 44 million. That's roughly about 29 times more travellers in trains versus flights," said Aloke Bajpai, chief executive officer and co-founder of Ixigo, an online travel platform. According to Ixigo data, the top-most holiday destinations for train travellers are Goa, Jammu, Tirupati, and Amritsar, while flight travellers prefer Goa, Leh, Kochi, and Udaipur.

According to Paytm, weekday versus weekend travel patterns of Indians reveal that people between 25-35 years of age were 26 per cent more likely to travel on weekends, while people below 40 years were 17 per cent more likely to travel on long weekends. There was hardly any deviation in weekend versus weekday travel patterns of senior citizens, implying that long weekends don't excite them too much......read more