Jet Airways (JAI, Mumbai International) management has held talks with the airline's B737-800 and ATR pilots regarding plans to transfer some B737-800s along with its entire ATR72-500/-600 fleet to LCC subsidiary, Jet Konnect (Mumbai International).
As part of a restructuring program aimed at returning the carrier to profitability following a consolidated annual loss of INR41.3billion (USD689million) for the year ending March 31, 2014, Jet announced plans to enhance Jet Konnect's operations by transferring the aircraft to the latter's Air Operators Certificate in a bid to improve its domestic market share. At present, the aircraft operate under the Jet Konnect brand but are operated by Jet Airways.
However, India's Business Standard reports that Jet Airways' pilots have sought a common seniority list to ensure their career progression isn’t affected by their transfer to the LCC. The pilots, the paper said, feared they would lose the opportunity to progress to Jet's A330 and B777 fleets.
“Many first officers from Jet Airways Boeing 737 got a command on ATRs, as there was a shortage of commanders on turbo-props. They are upset about the move to transfer them to JetLite, while their juniors on Boeing 737s are being given command training on the same aircraft,” an anonymous source told the publication.
The ch-aviation aircraft database currently shows Jet Konnect operates five B737-700s, four B737-800s, and one B737-900(ER).
