AI pilots strike benefits Indigo, JetLite

With Air India pilots' agitation resulting in cancellation of flights, especially from Delhi, private airlines like Indigo and JetLite
have been operating with a full load as passengers have been cancelling AI bookings and preferring private airlines on Delhi and Mumbai routes.

A senior Air India official said, "Our top officials have directed us to stop accepting advance bookings for flights to Delhi since late on Monday evening. However, there are no such directions for the Mumbai flights bookings and bookings are being accepted for Mumbai flights, which are operating as per schedule."

"Many passengers had booked to fly Air India (domestic) during the extended festive weekend. But they had to cancel their travel plans because of the strike by the Indian Airlines executive pilots that has affected flights since last three days. The delays and cancellations have inconvenienced a large number of flyers," sources told TOI.

Meanwhile, the government has requested other airlines to accommodate passengers already booked on the national carrier whose flights are being cancelled. Officials of all private airlines have also been asked to work out an alternate plan to ease inconvenience of passengers booked on such cancelled flights, a senior JetLite official said.

Since the day Air India cancelled its flights on the Delhi route, both new flights introduced by Indigo recently, in morning and evening schedules, from Nagpur to New Delhi have been operating with above 80% load factor, a senior Indigo airlines official informed.

JetLite officials too confirmed that since Air India's problem started, both morning and evening flights to Mumbai were operating with over 80% load factor.