Kingfisher Cuts More Flights; Mallya to Meet Pilots

New Delhi: Beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines announced further reduction in its flight schedule and said its promoter Vijay Mallya will tomorrow meet pilots agitating over delayed salary. Last month the company had informed the authorities that they will be operating 140 flights daily. However, Kingfisher said that 'despite the shortage of crew' it operated 101 flights yesterday and will operate 101 flights today. The airline also said it has returned wide body airbus A 330-200 aircraft to a lessor in the United Kingdom, adding that it plans to curtail international services. "We would like to confirm that we are curtailing our wide body overseas operations that are bleeding heavily," the company said. It, however, did not clarify which international sectors will be affected. Maintaining that its liquidity crunch was primarily caused by tax authorities freezing its bank accounts, the airline said in a statement, "We are also working with our bankers to realise the urgent interim working capital as approved in the Bankers Consortium meeting held on February 17." It added, "Whilst many of our pilots and engineers have expressed their disappointment, we not only sincerely apologise to them but wish to advise that our Chairman will meet the pilot fraternity on Thursday, March 15 in Delhi." Regarding its dealing with the State Bank of India, it says "We fully understand that State Bank of India can only consider additional facilities once our account with them is standard and this has been debated and minuted at the last Consortium meeting."