LETTERS: Jetting away

‘Naresh Goyal is his own worst enemy’ by Anjuli Bhargava (October 24) is an unfair criticism of a successful man who had the courage to own up his mistake and to take corrective action.

He built his airways to become the country’s top airline with top quality service and new ideas. His entry into the field has galvanised the state carrier Indian to meet the demands of the public for efficient service.

Captain Gopinath’s entry with Air Deccan and the presence of Jet Airways rewrote the policies of the airline industry. However, the abnormal increase in aviation fuel prices which are market-related and the slowdown in the economy are bleeding the industry. In its anxiety to cut costs, the company decided to sack 1,900 staff.

On reconsideration, either due to government pressure or due to Goyal’s conscience, the company retraced its steps. We should applaud Goyal for changing his stance instead of reading between the lines of every statement he made during the course of the crisis.

P Esakki Muthu, Mumbai

Anjuli Bhargava’s columns contain a soft aggression that is appealing. She is absolutely correct in her account of the bailout and while airlines may not be very profitable, when Vijay Mallya came in to the industry, he knew this and should have readied for it instead of crying like a baby for a bailout.

Even as he asks for a bailout, one must remember how Mallya spends huge amounts on his calendars and flies both politicians and filmstars for free to watch a cricket match in South Africa. It will be interesting to see how both Jet and Kingfisher will react when there is greater competition from abroad.

Pabitra Chatterjee, on email