Jet’s Single Brand Agenda Gives Sleepless Nights To Pilots

Naresh Goyal's Jet Airways plans to merge its Low Cost Carrier (LCC) Jetlite with its flagship carrier. According to company sources, the management will soon induct pilots from Jetlite to the parent company Jet Airways.

"Nearly 230 pilots will be shifted from Jetlite to Jet Airways. This is a point of concern for us because it may lead to drastic changes in our salary structures as well as our seniority," said a senior pilot who requested anonymity.

He further revealed, "Cramer Ball, CEO of Jet Airways, will be meeting with the company pilots on 9 September to discuss the future plans of the airline with us. Basically, they want to explain their decision to ensure a smoother transition".

Other sources told BI India that the management took the decision to transfer pilots from its LCC to Full Cost Carrier (FCC) because they want to operate as a single brand. "The management didn't want any confusion regarding their brand. They just want to be known as Jet Airways and not differentiated as FCC and LCC," disclosed a senior official.

Apart from the single-brand agenda, the management wants to aggressively expand its international network. Reports also suggest that airline will focus on deploying higher number of aircrafts on routes to Abu Dhabi, Etihad's base station, to boost profitability.

"Despite the domestic side contributing about 40% to the total business, Jet lost a whopping 15.6% on its domestic operations wiping out any profits made by its bigger and more lucrative international division", said aviation analyst Devesh Agarwal.

Commenting on the issue, Jet Airways spokesperson said, “The Jet Lite Air Operators Permit (AOP) will continue. We currently have excess pilot numbers in Jet Lite and we will be discussing with the Pilots, the options of working with Jet Airways.
The airline has also announced its plans to reconfigure its fleet, in order to increase the efficiency of its operations.

Interestingly, national carrier Air India, which too merged its domestic wing, erstwhile Indian Airlines and its international airline Air India in 2007, has been facing several HR issues pertaining to the salaries of the pilots.

However, with Naresh Goyal at the helm of affairs in his airline, what remains to be seen is whether Jet Airways will manage a smooth transition or will it face more troubles down the road?