New Delhi: While the aviation castle called Jet Airways withering away like a hapless nest in the storm, the good news for troubled Jet airways employees is that Gurgaon based budget airlines SpiceJet has recruited more than 500 Jet employees. It includes more than 100 piots, technical crew, cabin crew and ground staff. SpiceJet would need more of them as the airlines have already announced the induction of 27 more planes- in which there would be 22 Boeing 737s, and 5 turboprop Bombardier Q400s – in the existing fleet to help overcome the capacity deficit due to Jet Airways temporarily withdrawing its domestic and international services, to some extent.
A statement issued by SpiceJet says that CMD Ajay Singh has announced 'preferential treatment for the existing Jet employees. "As we expand and grow, we are giving first preference to those who have recently lost their jobs due to the unfortunate closure of Jet Airways," read the CMD's statement. He announced airline has already inducted 500 of them and will absorb more.
In the parallel development, CMD AirIndia Ashwani Lohani met his SBI counterpart Rajnish Kumar in Delhi on Friday. Their meeting lasted for more than an hour. Air India wants Jet planes on lease. Sources said during the meeting Lohani discussed the proposal of taking 5 Jet Boeing planes on lease.
Stuck in the slush of deep debt and fighting with falling profit Jet airways had temporarily suspended operations on April 17. Air India too is reeling under the mountain of debt but the privilege for the national carrier is the word national. There is no rush in the employees of Air India probably because they have an assurance of the fate that the government will ultimately take care of them.