New Delhi:
In his first exclusive interview to NDTV after the Jet pilots' strike was called off, Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal said days for private airlines in the country could be numbered if there is no rationalisation of aviation turbine fuel prices.
Making a plea for government support, Goyal said unless demands to rationalise ATF prices are met, private airlines in India will find it tough to survive. "Everyone is in a grave situation and won't be able to function if the Government won't help us."
Speaking on the Jet pilots' strike that caused the airline a loss of Rs 200 crore in five days, Goyal said the crisis in Jet is over but indiscipline, that puts passenger safety at risk, won't be tolerated. He told NDTV that he never meant to call the pilots' terrorists.
"I don't think it was taken in the right context. It was misinterpreted. No regret but it was misinterpreted."
Describing his reaction to the flash strike by over 300 pilots that crippled the domestic and global operations of the airline, Goyal said he was totally taken aback by what happened. "I had spoken to Capt Kaushik at 1030 pm that night and he gave no indication that they would go on strike. Everyone was unaware of the strike, passengers had checked into flights when they announced it."
Speaking on the lessons learnt from the crisis, Goyal said: "We have a 14,000 strong team and every employee is important. We have created a number of teams in each department to find out the problems within each team and find out if and why someone is unhappy."
Thanking the government for its support during the strike, Goyal said the airline's services are now back to normal with most customers returning to fly on Jet. He also thanked the airline's competitors for taking in their passengers, especially Air India.
Clarifying that there was no discrimination between foreign and Indian pilots, Goyal said the airline needs the experience of foreign pilots and will continue to use expats in management and as pilots.
"We could not have begun overseas operations overnight without foreign pilots. Foreign pilots are here for a purpose and that is to train Indian pilots and share their expertise."
On the tie up with Kingfisher airlines Goyal said: "Alliance with Kingfisher taking too long to materialise. World over alliances between airlines have worked, we can cooperate with each other in many areas i.e. engineering, airport handling, catering and many other factors."
Watch the full interview with Naresh Goyal on Saturday at 10 pm on NDTV 24X7.