Friday, March 22, 2019

UAE travellers hit by Jet Airways woes, make backup plans

Dubai: Indian travellers from the UAE are hit hard as the Jet Airways woes mount up, resulting in many of the cash-strapped airline's flights getting cancelled.

The 25-year-old Jet, reeling under mounting debts of more than $1 billion, has been forced to ground a total of 78 of its 119 aircraft after failing to pay lenders and aircraft lessors. To add to it, the April 1 deadline given by the carrier's pilots - who had been unpaid for more than three months - is approaching and passengers are facing more inconvenience.

The airline had been operating 11 flights daily from Dubai and 4 flights from Abu Dhabi to various Indian cities. Currently the Dubai flight is reduced to one daily till March 30 and the operations from Abu Dhabi are completely suspended.

The airfares on other airlines have now moved up considerably.

Those who already booked tickets are left with no option but to check on other airlines even at the cost of cancellation and re-booking at premium air fares.

"I want to fly with my family for a vacation and even if it means paying a little more to other airlines, it is fine. The holiday plans cannot be altered and uncertainty on travel plans is better to be avoided. We have now shifted to Emirates and SpiceJet," Bijay Rajnikantt Shah, national director, BNI UAE, told Khaleej Times.

Himanshu Sampat, business head UAE, Cox & Kings Tours, said: "Travellers who have booked their tickets with Jet are left with two choices; either claim for the refund or opt for alternative flights provided by the airline. Travellers who are planning their journey are opting for alternative airlines by not taking any chances. Travel towards India would become more expensive as supply will be impacted with the cancellation as Jet Airways had great frequency of daily flights to different parts of India. Currently, business travellers are opting for full cost national carriers and travellers looking for personal segment are opting for airlines offering best deals like Air Arabia, flydubai, Indigo, Air India and others."
21/03/19 Sandhya D'Mello/Khaleej Times

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