10 things the Kingfisher CEO told the DGCA today

10 things the Kingfisher CEO told the DGCA today

New Delhi: Kingfisher Airlines CEO Sanjay Agarwal and executive vice-president Hitesh Patel met the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aviation regulator, this morning, a day after the airline ceased all operations temporarily. Here are the 10 things they conveyed to the regulator:

#1: Kingfisher is incurring an operational loss of Rs 8 crore a day but it’s because half if flights are grounded.

#2: The management claims they are in advanced talks with two or three foreign companies for investment.

In deep trouble. Reuters

# 3: The management also claimed the full support of local banks, which are ready to cooperate with the airline’s restructuring plans if Kingfisher can find an investor.

#4: The CEO has assured the regulator that his company will clear some of the salary dues in the next four weeks. He also claimed that since his salary cheque was the last to be paid, he too had not received his salary till now.

#5: Kingfisher claims it still has enough employees for an airline with a fleet of 60 aircraft and if some disgruntled elements stop obstructing willing employees, operations can be normal very quickly.

#6: The airline is equipped to operate only 10 aircraft now; seven Airbus A320s and 3 ATRs. It is hopeful of inducting one more ATR shortly.

#7: The airline is likely to approach other carriers as well as MRO (Maintenance Repair and Overhaul) companies for getting its aircraft certified.

#8: The airline management has held discussions with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) on unfreezing its bank accounts. If the two bodies agree, Rs 60 crore could be released to Kingfisher which may then be used to pay March salaries of the remaining employees.

#9: Till now, only about 2,000 of the total 4,000 employees have been paid salaries for March.

#10: The airline will revert to the DGCA by tomorrow if it decides to resume operations by Thursday. It will need clearance because the DGCA needs to be sure that its planes have been certified by engineers before they are allowed to fly.