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| AI says flight operations normal, woos passengers |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi Oct 02, 2009, 00:40 IST |
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Announces attractive fares and rewards for passengers.
After the five-day protest by executive pilots, Air India’s services today limped back to normalcy with 150 domestic flights taking off across the country. Despite offering attractive fares to make up for the loss in passengers, the state-run carrier managed to book only 18,000 seats today — much lower than the daily average on normal days.
“We opened bookings yesterday and we are offering attractive fares, so that various categories of passengers are duly rewarded,” Executive Director (Corporate Communication) Jitendra Bhargava told reporters in Mumbai.
An airline release said that, as a gesture of goodwill, passengers were presented with rose-buds while being offered sincerest apologies on behalf of the airline. Air India has also increased the number of seats offered on special fares. Under the super-saving scheme, a reduction of up to Rs 2,000 on coupon tickets of four and eight on economy class travel is being offered.
Even in the executive class, discounts of up to Rs 3,000 per coupon ticket would be offered. Here too, in the super-saving scheme, a customer can buy coupon ticket leaflets having four and eight tickets.
To a question on whether Air India was contemplating any action against its executive pilots for hampering its operations severely, Bhargava said the priority now was to restore the confidence of passengers. However, he said that the management would make a note of it, adding: “There’s no denying the fact that it is an act of indiscipline.”
Around 200 executive pilots went on sick leave and did not report for duty since Friday night after the airline management decided to cut the (performance-linked incentive) PLI of 7,000 executive-level employees by up to 50 per cent. The pilots alleged that they had suffered a cut of up to 70 per cent — of which 50 per cent was publicly announced while 20 per cent remained hidden.
They resumed duty after the management assured that their PLI cut will not be implemented.
A committee comprising executive pilots was formed to look into the various issues and consult the pilots before any cut. The airline is estimated to have incurred a loss of Rs 80 crore due to the agitation.
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