Kingfisher reschedules many flights, as pilots take 'flight'

In the red

The airlines has cancelled over 80 flights across the country in the last few days. On Thursday alone it cancelled 42 flights, arrivals and departures, according to airport officials.

While several passengers were put through hardship on Thursday, Kingfisher maintains that the cancellations are being done in a well-controlled and pre-determined manner.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, a Kingfisher spokesperson from Mumbai said: “...As announced before, we would like to reiterate that there will not be any significant change to the network of 50-odd cities being served by our Airlines and we are doing this in co-ordination with our travel partners and guest relations teams to avoid any inconvenience that may be caused to passengers.”

Also, about the news that over 100 pilots having quit the airlines, he said: “We have received some queries about it. We are looking into the matter.”

However, sources in the airlines, including one pilot confirmed that pilots have been quitting the airline in the last few months, but said that the company has also been hiring people.

Frequency reduced

In an official statement, KFA said it has reduced frequency on some of its flights, which are predominantly over weekends or on some routes where there has been less demand. This was in continuation of the earlier announcement that it will focus on the full-service market, requiring reconfiguration of its aircraft, the statement said.

The airlines hopes that the initiative is expected to result in improved operational flexibility and revenue productivity of its network, in line with the stated intent and commercial strategy for the future ––bring back the ‘Good Times’.
Pilots also conceded that there were a lot of young pilots hired and that they were on training.

On September 18, a KFA flight from Delhi made a rough landing in Bangalore giving a jolt to the passengers late evening.

And its (Airbus 8321) Captain, Salaluddin had announced: “Sorry for the harsh landing ladies and gentlemen, I was training my under-officer (Gaurav), he will get the hang of it soon.”

The spokesperson of the airline had said that the matter would be inquired into but nothing has come out in the public domain yet.