Kingfisher pilots call off strike

Kingfisher pilots called off their strike on Friday after management assured them that they would get their salaries by May 15, said airline sources.

Earlier during the day, about 12 Kingfisher flights were cancelled after the pilots reported sick in protest against non-payment of due salaries.

Ten flights from Delhi and two from Mumbai were cancelled after pilots did not report for work, sources said.

Pilots have been protesting since Thursday against non-payment of their due salary.

Sources said a section of Kingfisher pilots have got their due salary, especially the co-pilots but the captains have not been paid.

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According to the pilots, they were assured by the management that their salary for the month of January will be paid by May nine but it did not happen due to which they started reporting sick.

Seventeen Kingfisher flights were cancelled on Thursday because of the stir.

Kingfisher chairman Vijay Mallya had assured the staff in his May 5 communication to them that their January salaries will be remitted from May 9.

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Last month, the Kingfisher management had said it would pay employees' December salaries between April 4 and April 9 in a phased manner, but some of the employees received their salaries as late as around April 24, the sources said.

Kingfisher Airlines has been facing financial troubles for almost a year now.

The airline, which never made a profit since its inception in May 2005, reported a net loss of Rs 444.26 crore (Rs 4.44 billion) in the December quarter.

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It suffered a loss of Rs 1,027 crore (Rs 10.27 billion) in 2010-11 and has a debt of Rs 7,057.08 crore (Rs 70.57 billion).

Because of paucity of funds, the air carrier now operates only 110 flights a day with a fleet of 20 aircraft as against 400 flights per day last year with 66 planes.

The airline had a 6.4 per cent market share in March, and was ranked below the budget carrier GoAir, which cornered 7.5 per cent market share in the same period.