New Delhi/Mumbai: Air
India chief Rohit Nandan Saturday warned that the airline may not be able to
survive in the long run if its pilots don’t end their 26-day-old strike.
If the airline has to survive in the
long run, achieve the turnaround, it is essential for the pilots to come back,”
Nandan told IANS.
“They (pilots) should think about
the long-term impact this strike will have on the airline and their future.”
Nandan’s outspoken comments came
even as the strike continued for the 26th day, pushing up the airline’s revenue
losses to more than Rs.350 crore.
The losses, according to a senior
Air India official in Mumbai, are among the biggest suffered by the airline due
to any strike.
“Current load factor (passenger
traffic) is at an all-time low for the international segment. Being the peak
travel season, the overall losses will be far above the predicted revenue drain
of Rs.400 crore,” the official in the operations arm of the airline said.
“In the peak travel season,
international outbounds are highest for us. We have lost a lot of opportunities
to cater to passengers going to the US-Europe and Far-East Asian regions.”
The airline expects to stabilise its
international operations through the interim plan which it implemented Friday
and cut its losses to less than Rs.5 crore a day from the present Rs.10 crore.
The interim plan has axed seven
international destinations including Hong Kong, Osaka, Seoul and Toronto.
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