SpiceJet pilots flocking to other airlinesIJ
With budget carrier SpiceJet wobbling amid fund drought and the aviation regulator keeping a close tab on its curtailed operations, the no-frill carrier's pilots are flocking to other airlines in search of a job, industry sources said.
As many as 54 SpiceJet pilots of the over 125 pilots who have quit the airline have already applied for a jobs in the two major airlines -- Jet Airways and IndiGo, the sources said. "The exodus of pilots from SpiceJet continues in view of the prevailing uncertainty. Around 125 pilots have already quit the carrier so far and of them 54 have already applied for a job with Jet Airways and IndiGo," one of the sources said.Of the 54 pilots, 40 have sought a job with Jet Airways, while the remaining have applied in the budget carrier IndiGo, the sources said. The airline auditors, in their recent report, have cast doubts over the ability of SpiceJet to run as a "going concern".
Concerned over the deteriorating condition of SpiceJet and large-scale flight cancellations, aviation regulator DGCA yesterday withdrew 186 of its slots and asked it to clear salary dues of all its employees by December 15. The airline, however, in a statement yesterday, said that the unused slots to an airport operators was a routine practice and it had already paid November salaries to almost 85 per cent of the employees two days ago.
'PM visits boost India's perception as investment destination'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visits to countries like the US, Australia and Japan have contributed significantly in building India's perception as a promising and stable investment destination among global investors, a survey has found.The poll was done by Assocham's foreign offices in the US and Australia for sensing the mood of multi-national companies which have either already established presence in India or are seriously eyeing India as a business destination.
Over 71 per cent of the senior level functionaries of these firms said that India tops the chart among the emerging countries as an investment destination, while as many as 53 per cent said that India could even overtake China as an investment destination in terms of growth potential."There was an across-the-board consensus about Prime Minister Narendra Modi being a very good communicator and who is able to establish a contact with the global community with as much ease as he is able to do at home," the survey noted