Embattled Jet Airways put photographs of smiling women employees on social media last week for Women’s Day, using the tagline “Standing tall; touching the skies”, but few passengers reacted cheerfully.
“‘Touching the skies’ is a good joke at a time when your flights are getting grounded,” said a respondent on Twitter, while others expressed anger and dismay at cancellations, delays in refunds and long response times to telephone calls.
India’s second-largest carrier, grappling with debt of more than $1 billion, Jet has delayed payments to banks, lessors, vendors and staff. Lessors have grounded more than three dozen planes, forcing hundreds of flights to be cancelled.
Rising customer frustration could bring further disruption for the 25-year-old airline, as some flyers backed a boycott, while others blamed cancellations for ruining their plans.
