JET AIR SAHARA ACQUISITION
Jet Airways sets up panels to study Sahara acquisition: report
Committees told to submit reports by January 20
BY A CORRESPONDENT
17th January 2006
New Page 1
Jet Airways has set up several committees to study the proposal to
take over Air Sahara and submit their reports by January 20, Hindustan
Times reported. The report said that the panels have been tasked with
finding the right synergies with Air Sahara and study the valuation.
Quoting highly-placed sources, the report said that Jet Airways may
relaunch Air Sahara as a low-cost carrier (LCC). Jet Airways is
currently under increasing pressure fom low-cost carriers like Air
Deccan, SpiceJet and GoAir. More LCCs like EastWest, Jagson and Magic
Air are expected to be launched in India this year.
The report also said that rival airlines are in a huddle to strategise
on how to take on the airline giant which wil emerge from a possible
Jet Airways-Air Sahara merger.
Meanwhile, another report (Times of India, January 17) said that Air
Sahara pilots are in a state of confusion over the proposed takeover.
Some pilots are worried about jobs. Some do not want to be tossed
around from one management to another. Some are ruing their decision
not to have quit Sahara early enough
However, the fact is that India has a severe shortage of pilots and
cabin crew to man its clutch of new airlines, and trained talent is
hard to come by. So, Air Sahara staff are unlikely to face any problem
of retrenchment, since Jet is more is likely to look at Sahara's
talent pool as a valuable asset, and not something to be downsized.
The publicly-listed Jet Airways has a professional management, and its
experience in leading the Indian private airline revolution is more
likely to benefit both Jet and Sahara.
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