Jet Airways Pilot was Asleep, Co-pilot was on iPad, Both Suspended

Mumbai:  While the plane they were flying plunged 5,000 feet, a Jet Airways pilot was asleep and the co-pilot was busy on an iPad checking out flight information. Both have been suspended by aviation regulator DGCA which is now investigating the incident.

280 passengers were on the flight from Mumbai to Newark via Brussels when it fell from 34,000 feet to 29,000 feet, according to the Press Trust of India.  

A spokesperson for Jet, however, told NDTV that the descent was of about 2,000 feet. While the plane was in Turkish airspace, Air Traffic Controllers noted the descent and sent an emergency message to the aircraft ordering it to climb back up. The co-pilot then woke up the commander.

Both pilots were summoned by the DGCA yesterday for questioning. While the commander said he was on "controlled rest", a short nap inside the cockpit which is allowed by flight operation procedures, the co-pilot testified that she was working on her iPad which had  aircraft documents loaded on to it, said unnamed sources to the Press Trust of India.

Confirming the incident, an airline spokesperson said Jet Airways has initiated an internal inquiry into the matter.

"The airline is also extending all co-operation in the matter to the DGCA by providing all necessary assistance for the inquiry," the spokesperson said.

The DGCA is now dissecting Jet Airways' training procedures for pilots.

The regulator also wants to know why the airline or the pilots failed to report the incident to it - an anonymous message to the DGCA disclosed the mid-air scare.

While both the pilots kept flying until they were grounded two days ago, they did not file a flight safety report, which is a mandatory exercise to document any unusual incident during the course of a flight

Jet Airways flight aborted after fire alarm

A fire alarm in a Jet Airways flight from New Delhi to Bhopal caused a scare as it was about to take off early on Thursday.

No one among over the 70 people on board were injured in the incident that took place around 05:45 a.m, airport sources said.

The ATR 72 turbo prop aircraft, operating flight 9W 2654, abandoned take off after the pilots saw the alarm on the cockpit flight panel.

The aircraft returned to the bay where the passengers were deplaned. They were later taken to their destination by another aircraft, the sources said.

Jet Airways to scrap low-cost brand JetLite as losses mount

Jet Airways is to scrap its low-cost brand to concentrate on its full-service operation, the airline said on Monday, as it looks to cut costs after reporting its sixth straight quarter of losses.

India's No.2 airline by market share, which has not reported an annual profit since 2007, is betting on cost cuts and the launch of more international routes to return it to profitability by 2017.

"We as an airline confused customers (with multiple brands) ... The main aim in the tie-up will be to increase market share," Jet chairman Naresh Goyal said at a press event after the release of the company's first-quarter results.

Jet's low-cost carrier JetLite, which operates 11 aircraft, will now bear the main airline's branding, Goyal said, without elaborating on whether the changes would result in job losses or alterations to the size of the fleet.

The company's aircraft will now be split between economy and business class seats but the airline's pricing will remain competitive despite the scrapping of the low-cost carrier, said James Hogan, chief executive of Etihad Airways, which owns a 24% stake in Jet.

Despite fast-growing demand for air travel, all but one of India's largest airlines are losing money as they grapple with high costs, low fares and fierce competition in their domestic market.

Jet said on Monday that it lost Rs. 2.18 billion during the three months to June 30, less than the Rs. 3.55 billion loss it reported a year earlier after its revenues rose and financing costs fell.

Shares in Jet, which have fallen about 15% this year, closed up 0.9 percent on Monday, in line with the benchmark index.