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Kingfisher Chairman Vijay
Mallya outlined the company's revival plan in the letter, a day after
employees threatened to move court seeking to close the airline
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Kingfisher Chairman Vijay Mallya wrote to the airline’s employees today
outlining the company's revival plan, a day after they threatened to move court
seeking to close the airline.
Mallya's letter is clearly aimed at
pacifying the employees who have not been paid since June. Some remained unconvinced
as the airline management, in the past, had not stuck to its assurances.
Mallya wrote the
airline was on "safe ground'' and making all efforts to secure renewal of
the operating permit which lapsed last month. “We have submitted a detailed
restart plan to the DGCA which is in two parts. The first part deals with
a limited re-start utilising seven aircraft, ramping up to 21 aircraft in four
months.
The second part is a full-scale
rehabilitation of our airline, growing to 57 aircraft within 12 months of
recapitalisation,” Mallya informed his employees in the letter.
"The banks have been very co-operative
and patient. There has been no discussion at all on recall of loans,
enforcement of securities, etc.as reported in the media. On the contrary, the
banks have expressed their keen desire to see Kingfisher fly ,'' he wrote in
the letter.
"Mallya's letter brings nothing new to
the table. In the past, too, the airline has given assurances about restarting
the airline and paying salaries but that has not happened. We were supposed to
receive June salary before Christmas. Two days back, employees met Executive
Vice-President Hitesh Patil and he said the airline may pay salary
before month end,'' a Kingfisher employee said.
Kingfisher management had promised the
employees that their dues till June would be paid by December last year.
However, it failed to meet the deadline. The commitment to the employees had
come following a two-month strike by its engineers and pilots over non-payment
of dues.
Earlier, Kingfisher had said that while the
March salary would be paid within 24 hours, the April salary would be paid by
October 31, May dues before Diwali in mid-November and June salary by December
end. The salary dues from July to September would be paid by March next year
after recapitalisation of the airline.
Kingfisher, whose flying licence (Scheduled
Operator’s Permit) expired on December 31, had submitted a revival plan to the
regulator DGCA on December 2012. The DGCA, however, did not accept it and asked
to furnish additional details.
Kingfisher is burdened with a loss of Rs
8,000 crore and a debt burden of another over Rs 7,524 crore, a large part of
that has not been serviced since January.
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