Jet Airways lays off cabin crew

Jet Airways lays off cabin crew

Jet Airways has laid off 800 employees as it cuts flights amid soaring costs.

India’s largest private airline said cabin crew hired for a planned expansion programme, which had been suspended, would lose their jobs.

Jet said it expected to cut more jobs. Its announcement follows a recent cost-cutting alliance with India’s second largest private airline, Kingfisher.

The two airlines, which have nearly 60 per cent of the market in India, said the rise in the price of jet fuel by a quarter this year was a major factor in wanting to join forces in order to cut costs.

“As a first step, around 800 flight attendants, recently recruited for the planned expansion programme, which has now been suspended, have been released,” Jet Airways said in a statement.

“The other categories include probationary and unconfirmed personnel in other areas, including cockpit crew and management personnel, to reflect the lower number of flights and seats offered.”

The airline said it will be offering 15 per cent fewer flights than scheduled this winter because of “declining traffic volumes”.