Arvind Jadhav, chairman and managing director of National Aviation Company of India Ltd (Nacil), spent sleepless nights talking executive pilots out of the strike. Now, he will have a tougher time negotiating with bankers for loans, cutting costs in the company and tackling overcapacities in the industry.

“The requirement (for loan) is so huge that any financial institution will take a double take — they will scrutinise every document. Financial institutions will ask for a plan of action. If they see results coming in after 10 years, they will ask me to come after 10 years,” Jadhav told The Indian Express. In the recent five-day strike, which affected around 240 domestic and international flights, Air India lost almost Rs 100 crore.

Jadhav, who took over the reins at Nacil just five months ago, is working on corrective actions required to financially resurrect the company, or else “four months down the line deterioration will happen”. Just two days ago, when talks between pilots and management broke down, he had said, “The airline is in an ICU. I have to look at cost cutting.” Cost cutting also implies that the company is “living on an end-to-end basis.”

“With recent strikes, the aviation sector is committing suicide because there are overcapacities and we are trying to grab market share. Most organisations have no back up today in a mad rush to cut costs. Bargaining power of each group is so high that it destabilises us. We are running without backup. Any small issue can bring down the system,” Jadhav says.

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