The New Year is bringing in bad news for business class air travellers. Airlines are reducing lounges.
For instance, frequent flyers on Jet Airways will be able to enjoy facilities in business class lounges at only 11 airports from January 1. This is a decline of about 50 per cent in the number of airports where the airline has been providing this service.
Among airports with business class lounges are Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi.
The airline had reported a loss of Rs 713.6 crore for the quarter ended September 30. Among the airports which will not have the airline's business class lounges are Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Coimbatore, Varanasi and Bagdogra.
In November, Jet Airways had shut down its operation bases in Hyderabad and Bangalore again as part of cost saving measures. Now, Chennai takes care of both these places.
No hot food
There is also a strong buzz in the market that Air India is considering doing away with serving hot food on flights which are less than 90 minutes long. The airline's officials are strongly denying this move.
Air India is also talking about returning its leased aircraft, inducting a new and fuel efficient fleet, closing down off line stations abroad and reducing contractual labour and material consumption. According to sources, the airline could hive off its Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul and ground handling facilities. The Maharaja has also tied up with the Geneva-based International Air Transport Association (IATA) for fuel efficiency which has helped the airline save Rs 650 crore over a year.
IndiGo and Kingfisher did not respond to questions about what cost cutting measures they were planning.