INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Shares of Jet Airways were down 4.2 percent at 0600 GMT while the broader market was 0.7 pct higher.New Delhi: India's biggest full-service
carrier Jet Airways Ltd has told its pilots the airline may be grounded in 60 days unless cost-cutting measures including pay cuts are put
in place, a senior company executive told Reuters on Friday.Pilots who have refused a proposed 15 percent pay cut for two years had been
informed that the airline was running out of time to slash costs and raise revenue, the source said.The company was looking at sales and
distribution, payroll, maintenance and other areas for savings to create a "healthier and a more resilient business", a company spokesman
said in a statement.Management was in talks with all stakeholders, he added, without giving further details.Jet Airways is looking for
working capital loans but banks want the airline to show a turnaround commitment, the source said, adding that salary reduction was part of
the same issue."There are some job losses across verticals but not among pilots," the source added, declining to be named as the talks with
staff were private.Jet Airways shares plunged as much as 9 per cent on stock exchange BSE, whose benchmark index Sensex surged 410 points,
or 1.1 per cent, at the day's highest point.COST CUTTING Surging fuel prices and a weaker rupee are hurting Indian airlines, with the
country's leading carrier IndiGo reporting a 97 percent plunge in profit on Monday.Jet Airways agreed last month to purchase 75 Boeing Co
737 MAX aircraft to meet domestic passenger demand, taking its total order for the wide-body planes to 225.The airline said the planes would
enhance efficiency and lower costs, a move that is likely to reduce losses and improve competitiveness.The company, part owned by Etihad
Airways, had net debt of 81.5 billion rupees ($1.2 billion) as of end-March with the bulk of it being U.S
dollar denominated.Jet Airways in July 2017 asked dozens of junior pilots to take 30-50 percent salary and stipend cuts or quit, sources had
told Reuters.The management team including Chairman Naresh Goyal had informed employees that drastic measures were needed, the Economic
Times daily reported earlier on Friday, citing two executives.Separately, newspaper Mint reported that Jet Airways had approached investment
bankers again to help sell a stake in the carrier, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.© Thomson Reuters 2018(Except for
the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
