Air Sahara pilots on strike, flights cancelled

    New Delhi: Following a flash strike by the Air Sahara pilots on Sunday morning, at least ten flights from here were cancelled or delayed. There has been unrest among the pilots after the 500 million US dollar (Rs 2,300 crore) takeover of the airlines by Jet Airways, where their pay and perks are on the lower side than that of the acquired airline. A number of passengers, who had to fly by Air Sahara, were accommodated in Jet Airways and Kingfisher airlines, Air Sahara sources said. The pilots who have also been holding talks with the management, have not been able to arrive at any conclusion.

   Jet Airways India Ltd had acquired Sahara Airlines for 500 million dollars (RS 2,300 crore). The deal was inked on January 18 by Sahara Group Chairman Subrata Roy and Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel had said that Jet-Sahara deal will not lead to monopoly. He said that every airline had started its business in a small way and tried to expand its operations. According to the sources, the deal was inclusive of all the liabilities of Air Sahara which were brought down to about RS 150 crore ahead of the takeover agreement. Acquisition of Air Sahara had made Jet Airways the undisputed leader in the Indian aviation sector. Post-acquisition, Jet will command over 45 percent of Indian aviation sector. Moreover, in lucrative metro destinations, like Delhi-Mumbai route that accounts for nearly 50 percent of total domestic air traffic, Jet-Sahara will account for 85 percent of the flights. Keeping this in mind the smaller airlines like Kingfisher Airways, GoAir and Indigo are toying with the idea of forming an alliance to lobby with the Government for a level-playing field.

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