Jet Airways defers March salary payment

NEW DELHI: Jet Airways has delayed payment of March salary to employees to up to April 10. In a mail to staffers on Tuesday, the airline’s chief peoples’ officer Rahul Taneja said, “We regret to inform you that due to certain circumstances beyond our control, the disbursal of March 2018 salary is postponed… We trust you will understand the situation and request your kind cooperation in this regard.”

The airline gave a schedule in the mail where some employees will get paid on April 3 and others, mostly senior level staffers including pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers and senior managers and above, will be paid on April 10.

When asked about the reason for the delay in payment of salaries, a Jet Airways spokesperson said the airline “does not comment on matters internal to the company.” While some officials said the delay was due to end of the year administrative reasons, others said the company was facing cash flow issues.


In the financial year ended March 31, 2017, Jet’s “employee benefit expenses” were Rs 2,941.8 crore, of which 2,604 crore were salary and allowances. The monthly bill is over Rs 200 crore on this count.

Hikes in fuel cost for past few months have started impacting airlines badly now and the problems compound for those with higher cost structures. Jet Airways Group had reported a net profit of Rs 186 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2017, down 38% from Rs 299 crore in same period last fiscal.

On a standalone basis, Jet Airways (not factoring in Jetlite) saw its profit decline by 46% to Rs 165.25 crore in Q3 this fiscal. While the airline spent Rs 1,840 crore on fuel in Q3 this fiscal, the expense in same period last fiscal was 29% lower at Rs 1,428.9 crore, amid fierce competition between airlines here that caps their pricing power.