Air Sahara pilots end strike

The Air Sahara management today said it had reached an agreement with the protesting pilots to end the three-day protest.

An Air Sahara spokesperson said all its pilots would join work tomorrow, resulting in normal operation of the carriers flights.

The spokesperson said the demands of the pilots would be reported to the new management resulting from Jet Airways' acquisition of Air Sahara and an amicable solution would be reached soon.

She said on the assurance of the management, the protesting pilots had agreed to join work. Airline sources said about 30 Air Sahara flights were disrupted today as a result of the protests by the pilots.

Air Sahara pilots have pointed out to the management that their seniority should be kept in mind while employees integration takes place.

They also want that they should be allowed to fly on routes they originally operated. "Air Sahara pilots want to operate on the same routes they operate now even after the deal. The pilots have told the management that they should not be demoted or asked to handle secondary routes," said an airline industry executive.

As a contingency measure, the airline combined some flights today and pressed into service the executive pilots, who are on managerial positions, to minimise cancellations.

The airline had stopped bookings in its flights from Mumbai and Kolkata for the next two days, sources said. Air Sahara has a fleet of 27 aircraft that includes Boeing 737 and the CRJ aircraft.

The airline operates 134 flights offering almost 14,000 seats a day to 24 domestic and four international destinations.

The deal still has to be approved by the authorities. At the time of the acquisition, Jet Airways had said it wanted to retain the services of pilots, engineers, and technical staff of Air Sahara.