June 07--MUMBAI -- Vijay Mallya, chairman of the grounded Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, is likely to meet 15 representatives of protesting employees on Friday before he leaves for the Formula One championship in Montreal, according to three airline executives.
This follows a silent protest by at least 75 employees at the airline's headquarters in Mumbai -- Kingfisher House -- demanding salaries pending since July 2012. The protest began on Thursday.
"Mallya has agreed to meet 15 representatives of the employees before he leaves to Montreal. We have only two questions: final update on our 10-month pending salaries and future of the airline," one of the three airline executives mentioned above said requesting anonymity.
Mallya is a co-owner of the Force India Formula 1 team.
Kingfisher Airlines chief executive officer Sanjay Aggarwal, who is mediating in the discussions, did not return calls seeking confirmation. A Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson declined to offer comments.
Employees from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore have camped at the headquarters in a silent protest.
Earlier this week, employees of the stricken airline had a meeting with UB Group (parent company of the airline) chief financial officer Ravi Nedungadi.
Kingfisher hasn't flown since October after its operating licence was suspended by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) following a strike by its employees. The licence has since expired, although it can be renewed within two years.
Kingfisher Airlines's loss in the fourth quarter widened to Rs.2,141.80 crore from Rs.1,151.83 crore in the same year-ago period. For fiscal year 2013, the airline posted a net loss of Rs.4,001.12 crore against a loss of Rs.2,328.01 crore in the previous year. Kingfisher Airlines has never made a profit since its inception in 2005.
In April, Kingfisher Airlines submitted a fresh revival plan to DGCA. Permission to resume flights wasn't forthcoming as the airline didn't have no-objection certificates from various stakeholders, including airport operators, bankers, jet fuel vendors and spare parts sellers to whom it owes pending payments.
Kingfisher Airlines shares were trading 2% lower at Rs.5.27 apiece at about 11.30am on Friday, while the Sensex was up 0.47% at 19,613.73 points.
Copyright 2013 - Mint, New Delhi
