Jet Airways

[zanng]

The news shows Jet Air as releasing staff, imposing pay cuts and losing market share, etc. At the same time I have just been offered a contract (1 year) to fly B373's, presumably for their low cost version of themselves. Does anybody have any info on what's going on inside the company? I was about to go to work for them last year when they had their meltdown and they released many or all of their expat pilots. Now they have offered me essentially the same contract. I appreciate any insights...

[Left Wing]

NEW DELHI: India's second largest airline, Jet Airways, has retrenched all the 120 foreign airhostesses it had as part of its 3,000-strong cabin
crew.

Jet has so far never hired cabin crew from the west and all expat airhostesses hailed from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. With Jet closing overseas crew bases in these three places, the 120 expats were laid off.

"We have been operating on overseas routes for five years now and have been able to train our Indian crew to world standards," said an airline official.

The move to retrench expat airhostesses is the latest in a series of steps taken to keep the airline afloat in tough times.

[Nevrekar]

If you have other offers, then I would consider them first. If you don't then take the contract, but just know that it will probably only last for 12 months.
If you are ok with that then you won't be upset later. If you want something longer then look at AirIndia Express. Not the best place to be, but you could be there 12-36 months (depending on the DGCA and AIEX).

[vivekh]

isn't the DGCA planning to draft some regulations in order to phase out expat pilots in india?

if that is to be the case, i would think you should reconsider - what if jet were to prematurely cease the contract because of some DGCA ruling against expat pilots?

[Aeronotix]

Its best to hold on at the moment till a new govt is sworn in. After that one could figure out which way the new dispensation would view the issue of Expat Pilots. As things stand, the new DGCA looks like he is keen to see the foreign pilots move out and is also keen on bringing down the retirement age to 60. But then under pressure from politicians and airlines a flip flop is certainly very possible.

In the long term perspective, once the recession is over and airlines get into the 'mad' expansion mode once again expats may make a comeback. Remember aviation is a cyclic industry.

Aeronotix.

[Left Wing]

'mad' expansion mode once again expats may make a comeback....agree since no airline is learning any lessons of high cost of operations of paying these crazy salaries to expat & locals..due to deman and supply....

now is the time they need to start a serious cadet pilot & engineer program...to ensure a supply of qualified techs, Capts & FOs once the "mad" expansion starts again...

[Schumi - Red Baron]

KOLKATA: Caught in a turbulence following decreased loads and plummeting yields, leading carrier Jet Airways is planning to lay off a section of the crew to reduce costs.

An industry source said the airline has been laying off staff on a daily basis. "Since April 30, nearly 50 staff have been laid off in ones and twos. Since the termination has not happened at one go, it has not been noticeable," he said.


Caught in air pocket, Jet plans job cuts - Kolkata - Cities - The Times of India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kolkata-/Caught-in-air-pocket-Jet-plans-job-cuts/articleshow/4536996.cms)

[Vimd23]

Morale among pilots in 9w is at itsLOWEST EBB EVER. With the way the current management are handling things , we have seen over 25 pilots resign in the last month alone for the ME carriers. 9w are losing alot of quality guys ( instructors / examiners ) and am sure will lose further more including first officers from the widebody 330 who are going to indigo for 320 command.The SH*T is waiting to hit the Fan .

rgds
vimd23

[fullforward]

Left Wing wrote:

"now is the time they need to start a serious cadet pilot & engineer program...to ensure a supply of qualified techs, Capts & FOs once the "mad" expansion starts again..."

Firstly, no airline can afford this.

Secondly,this could make sense in the romantic era of aviation, long ago.
Now airlines are driven by a single word - COSTS - and it'll always be much cheaper to hire experienced workforce, domestic or expat when and if the needs come.

[kk pilot]

Grooming your airline with a "from the ground up" pilot force is impossible - you can't make competent flight crew overnight no matter how badly those new CPL holders of India want it. Too bad for Jet - I heard they were a decent outfit to work for.

[heavenbound]

NewsJet Airways Denies Talks With LufthansaJust saw this



AWIN First May 01 , 2009 Neelam Mathews [email protected] DELHIhttp://www.aviationweek.com/media/images/x.gif
As losses in the Indian aviation industry and debts rise to insurmountable levels, India’s largest and most successful carrier Jet Airways may be preparing for a stake sale and eventual takeover, an airline official told AviationWeek.
Jet Airways Executive Director Saroj Datta said no talks were being held and refused to comment on how the airline sees consolidation in the Indian aviation industry changing in the coming years. Queries by AviationWeek to Lufthansa regarding investment talks remain unanswered.
AviationWeek has learned that numerous meetings between Jet Airways and Lufthansa have been held in Germany in the past few month. While present rules do not permit Foreign Direct Investment in an Indian airline by a foreign carrier, it is likely that once the new government takes over on June 2, FDI will be considered.
Signs of the decision on FDI coming close to fruition are obvious; Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said earlier this year that the government is looking at allowing foreign airlines to buy up to a 25% stake in domestic carriers. “The proposal is still under examination,” Patel said then.
“We remain convinced that air traffic will continue to grow over the medium and long term. We therefore review carefully the additional growth opportunities which arise, through partnerships for instance, and also through acquisitions, where they make sense,” Wolfgang Mayrhuber, chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Lufthansa, wrote in a letter to shareholders recently.
Lufthansa made a number of key decisions on consolidation in 2008 including the planned takeover of Austrian Airlines and phased acquisition of Brussels Airlines, a codeshare partner of Jet Airways. Brussels Airport is also Jet’s hub for connections to North America, Europe and Asia.
“When all obstacles have been successfully cleared, both airlines (Brussels and Austrian) will provide us with the chance to connect the Belgian and Austrian markets better with the Lufthansa network. With its strong presence in Africa, Brussels Airlines is a valuable partner for us,” added Mayrhuber in the letter.
Lufthansa’s interest in Indian aviation goes back to the 1990s- it completes 50 years in India this year- when it entered into a joint venture with the Modi Group to start Modiluft airlines (now budget SpiceJet) and a cargo venture with the Hindujas. Both had short lifelines.
Lufthansa also signed a strategic alliance with Air India in the mid-90s that made Mayrhuber comment: “India is an important market with great growth potential...With Air India, Lufthansa has found a partner which is optimally placed in its home market. Together the strategically outstanding position will be exploited in order to continue to be the leading European airline to and from India.”
Lufthansa invited Air India to be part of the Star Alliance, and is now said to be in talks with Jet Airways to become a member.

http://www.aviationweek.com/media/images/x.gifhttp://www.aviationweek.com/media/images/x.gif

[heavenbound]

NewsJet Airways Launches Konnect, Its Second Budget BrandAnother one- is there any logic in a second low cost brand?:ugh:

AWIN First May 07 , 2009 Neelam Mathews [email protected] DELHIhttp://www.aviationweek.com/media/images/x.gif
The overcapacity in the full-fare service segment in India has prompted Jet Airways to launch another budget service today, called Konnect.
Two 737s and six ATRs will be branded as Konnect and fly on shorter sectors such as Chennai-Coimbatore, Chennai-Madurai, Chennai-Kochi, Mumbai-Udaipur and Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore)-Pune.
Jet already owns subsidiary budget Jetlite, an all-economy airline it acquired from Air Sahara.
The hurried announcement comes a day before a ruling is to be made on an ongoing tax case between Jet Airways and Sahara India that claims Jet had defaulted on the installment amount due as payment for acquisition of Air Sahara.
The decision to launch Konnect today had nothing to do with the ruling, says Jet spokeswoman Ragini Chopra, concerning the announcement that was kept under wraps without any marketing before the launch.
“The decision had to be made overnight as we are responding to the global environment conditions. The market is getting price conscious,” says Chopra.
The move is a positive step in that the airlines are recognizing there should be capacity reductions, and the full-service model should not extend beyond the six main metropolitcan cities--Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, said Kapil Kaul, the head of the Indian office of Sydney-based think-tank Center for Asia Pacific Aviation.
With earnings before interest, tax and amortization (EBITA) of budget carriers in India improving, Kaul adds while he is not surprised with the decision to move aircraft to the budget brand. However, he is perplexed as to why Jet chose to create another brand with a business model that has a cost structure higher than its already existing low-cost Jetlite.
Chopra, however, believes it gives flexibility to infuse a different class of service “if tomorrow the market improves and we need to do things differently.”
She added that nearly 40% of Jet’s total fleet, including the two budget brands, will be deployed on the budget routes.
“Jet Airways Konnect will have the flight number range for this service, will be unique, and will help both guests and travel agents identify the class of service,” says a Jet statement.
http://www.aviationweek.com/media/images/x.gif

[functionisthestyle]

If I were you I'd stay away. Jet screwed over so many expats last fall when they sent them home without much notice. Poor chaps had to pull kids out of shcool mid-year, cancel leases and lose deposits, etc. All in the name of the global meltdown. Then there is the lot who quit their jobs or took leave on the contract they signed with Jet only to be told, "we don't need you any more." Again, fallout of the global financial crisis.


For the remaining expats, they did a pretty good job of feeding the press with anti-expat article day after day after day. Every day you're opening the paper reading your job will be eliminated in days, weeks, or months. The Chairman himself has been quoted in the national media as saying, "all expats will be gone within 6 months." So now you want to believe they need you? They will use you for as long as their needs last then dump you as quickly as the plans seem to change around there (which is weekly of late).

The only reason they SUDDENLY need expats is that nearly 40 Captains have put in their papers to resign in the next 30 to 60 days. Jet played a game with the pilots, and they got caught with their pants down. They cut their national own pilot's contract benefits a few months ago. When they bitched about it, Jet mgmt's response was, "well you're free to leave." Well, guess what? You can only push pilots so far before they start shopping their skills around. That is what began to happen and Jet figured they didn't need them so "fk 'um.",

Well, now the plan is to take on new routes on the 737 since nobody will take over their lease, but wait... what? You mean we already pushed the pilots out? Tell them they can't leave! NO! You can't go anywhere because we said so! Alas, enter the DGCA. They just came out with a ruling that if your work rules were changed in any way, you as a Indian pilot are free to leave (wow, democracy works?). HA! Now jet is scrambling to make sure they keep crews around cause they can't train their own guys in time. Funny how quickly fortunes change around here. Word is they are begging guys not to leave... but many already have class dates with carriers in the Gulf (who knows how long it will be before NG tells the Gulf carriers to stop poaching his pilots... as he's supposedly done in the past).

Instead of firing the mid-level managers responsible for mis-manging the pilots, they jump for that trusty safety-net, the expat contract pilot. Only this time, you're not wanted AT ALL by the line pilot. In fact, you're pretty-much hated. They may not tell you right away. But you'll get the message eventually. And one day you'll be called to HQ to be told, thanks but no thanks. Contract? What contract? See you in court... 20 yrs from now (Indian justice system the most lethargic in the world for the common-man).

Expect many MANY pilots to be completely pissed off because you took their upgrade. You can't really blame them. They get lied to daily by mgmt. Benefits get cut back regularly, morale is so low right now the DGCA is concerned about safety. A questionaire was sent to all carriers a few days ago asking mgmt to address the low morale, like pay, etc. and determine exactly how it is affecting safety. Pay has been late every month this year at Jet for Expats... late the past 2 months for all nat'l employees as well. And every time its late the rumors are that they will get paid the following month or maybe not at all... who cares if your mortgage is due or your landlord wants his rent. Not their problem. But your fully expected to operate ON-time, efficiently, and with a smile on your face. How dare you let a thing like pay affect your professioalism.

What a joke Jet is turining out to be. Use to be a great airline. Still is pretty good but headed South really quick.

As one of their most senior instructor/ examiners told a group of us last year, "You can spend 20 years building a reputation, and in just a few short and silly moves destroy it in an instant." The latter seems to be the case of late. Jet Konnect is just the latest example.

Good Luck. Be wary. Don't say you weren't warned if paid late or not at all. Also, don't be surprised at all when you contract is constantly violated time and again.

[Aeronotix]

Both Naresh Goyal & Jet are fast losing their credibility amongst the pilot fraternity as also the aviation industry. And squarely to blame are the high flying and pompous managers who operate with blinkers on without an iota of understanding ground realities, offering solutions that are far worst than the problems created by them. Their existence is solely dependent on pandering to Goyal's ego and keeping him away from directly interacting with his workforce as he earlier used to do.

Sorry to see an airline steering 360 heading 180.

Aeronotix:{

[gabu1234]

Like someone said here, goyal is an "insecure blackmarketeer". He has reached the point that he does'nt care much about the employees anyways, and treats them more like a "slave commodity" which can be mended for his profitable and whorish ventures.

Last year he had sacked about 1500 cabin crew, but re-instated them under political pressure. He then came all over the news with fake tears and swearing on his poor old dead mother, stating his 'concious" did not allow them to be sacked......Well guess what he has slyly sacked a number of cabin crew since then and is planning to do it the rest 1500. He also made the crew sign a "code of conduct" stating that they will not make any noise if they are shown the slip...

What he is doing to the pilots is also nothing but pathetic. A number of pilots are planning to leave, and leave they should.

[concordino]

Aeronotix,

Did you mean Steering 360 and tracking 180 :)

[Left Wing]

Goyal & Jet are fast losing their credibility amongst the pilot fraternity as also the aviation industry..... lost it a while back.... Goyel had the most ma amazing loyalty of his staff... thats all gone to ZERO....:=


Mumbai: Air safety experts in India rue the fact that increasingly, commercial interests seem to override safety concerns. “The increase in the number of incidents and accidents during takeoff or touchdown of flights is due to the lack of proper training and safety oversight,’’ says Capt Mohan Ranganathan, an air safety expert alluding to the need for transparency. “The Alliance Air crash in Patna in 2000 killed 55. But the DGCA website for accident/incident data shows nil aircrashes for airlines,’’ he adds.
In India, air accidents/incidents are investigated by the DGCA, the civil aviation regulatory authority. For long, aviation observers have demanded an independent investigation authority, like the US’s National Transport and Safety Board (NTSB), for instance. The Indian Pilots Guild, a union of Air India pilots, endorses this.
“The Commission of Railway Safety, which looks into rail accidents for the sake of impartiality, comes under the ministry of civil aviation. Aviation should have an independent body,’’ says an Indian Pilots Guild spokesperson. What it has is the National Air Safety Board, that was formed by the DGCA in January 2008 and is not independent. The board is supposed to meet at least four times a year. “It has hardly met in the last one year,’’ said a source.
Capt R S Otaal, general secretary of Indian Commercial Pilots Association, says a majority of the cases was due to crew fatigue. “The number of incidents has been on the rise after scientifically-backed rest rules for pilots were put in abeyance last year,’’ he says. It’s also an open secret in the aviation community that rest rules for pilots are often violated and commercial interests override bad weather in deciding whether a flight should land or not.
Multi-leg flights, like a Mumbai-Nagpur-Raipur-Kolkata one for instance, are a case in point. “Last year, on one of these flights, the commander tried to land, but did a go around as the aircraft was rocking badly. He managed to land in the second attempt. What he should have done was diverted the flight. But then, he would have had to go back to Nagpur and continue with two other flights. Such decisions are sure-fire recipes for disaster,’’ says a senior airline commander.
“The International Civil Aviation Organisation, the FAA and the European Union are concerned about the lack of qualified manpower and lack of proper safety oversight in in India. The government will not be in a position to prevent a major accident, which is round the corner, unless we have a
transparent and honest system,’’
says Capt Ranganathan, the
air safety expert.
Aircraft Mishaps And Snafus Over The Years
Year 2009
April 19: A Kingfisher Airlines Kolkata-Hyderabad-Bangalore Airbus with 138 passengers skidded at Bangalore airport while landing in rain and strong wind. Ten to 12 runway edge lights and four main wheels were damaged March 4: A Jet Lite Lucknow-Kolkata flight with 47 passengers landed on a parallel secondary runway, when it was cleared for cleared to land on Kolkata’s main runway. March 3: Jorhat-Kolkata Alliance Air flight CD 7719 was taxiing from the parking bay to the runway when its wings collided with the wings of a CD 7761 flight Jan 7: An Air India flight damaged the arrester cable at IAF’s Pune airport while landing. The pilot did not report the incident and took off for the next flight in 25 minutes only to be recalled after airport officials spotted the damage
Year 2008
Dec 1: A Spice Jet Bagdogra-Kolkata aircraft with 139 passengers landed on a runway closed for maintenance Nov 8: The nose wheel of a Chennai-Mumbai Air India flight(92 passengers) burst while taxing for take off Nov 7: The right wing tip of an Air India Jeddah-Kozhikode flight hit the runway on landing Oct 16: On landing at Mumbai airport, the pilot of a Jet Airways Singapore-Mumbai Airbus tried to take a 180-degree turn, crumbling two runway edge lights Aug 14: The main wheel & rear end of a Spice Jet Mum-Bangalore plane touched the runway damaging its tail Aug 6: The tail of a Kingfisher Airlines plane travelling from Udaipur to Delhi hit the runway on landing June 9: A Spice Jet Boeing 737 landed on the main runway closed for maintenance, instead of the secondary runway at Delhi April 5: A Go Air Chennai-Mumbai flight with 120 passengers landed on the wrong runway, which had been closed for repairs. Workers ran for cover
Year 2007
Oct 18 : A Jet Airways Bangalore-Kochi flight skidded off the runway while landing, damaging its wheels and runway lights Aug 26 : A Jet Lite Patna-Varanasi flight crash-landed after its landing gear failed. Emergency brakes were applied, passengers sustained minor injuries
Aug 23 : A Jet Lite Delhi-Srinagar flight (120 passengers) skidded on the runway
while landing due to a jammed wheel. It ran into a nearby field
July 9 : An Air India Express Muscat-Kochi flight (61 passengers) skidded
200m off the runway damaging its nose-wheel. The left engine was mired in mud
July 3: A Jet Lite Bangalore-Kochi flight (60 passengers) skidded off the runway while landing at Kochi airport. It landed with its right wheel on the runway edge. July 1: A Jet Airways ATR plane touched down just before the mid-point of the runway and skidded. It bounced a couple of times and went off the runway into sludge. A few passengers were injured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair June 12: A Spice Jet flight arriving at New Delhi’s international airport from Jammu with 160 passengers on board landed on the main runway, which was closed May 13: A Paramount Airways Hyderabad-Vizag flight with 70 passengers landed on a yet-to-be-cleared runway and overshot it Apr 9: An Air India Bangkok-New Delhi flight with 169 passengers skidded at the taxiway after landing due to landing gear problems Apr 8: Fire broke out in the engine of a Jet Airways flight while it was landing