Air Deccan seeks govt nod for foreign crew

New Delhi: Air Deccan, which becomes eligible to fly abroad from August 26, has sought government permission for hiring foreign cabin crew. Interestingly, Kingfisher had last summer applied for a similar permission with the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA). Since this airline is not eligible to fly abroad, it did not give its approval.
Now with Kingfisher all set to fly abroad on Deccan’s licence, the combine decided to apply for foreign cabin crew under the latter’s name. “The DGCA has officially told Deccan it can fly abroad and therefore to prepare for the same, it can logically be allowed to hire foreign cabin crew. Currently, Jet and Air India are allowed to hire expat cabin crew as they fly abroad,” said sources. Mallya had recently said, “If the clearance (to fly abroad) is for Deccan and if Deccan changes its name to Kingfisher, then understandably the same applies to Kingfisher.”
Industry sources said the expat crew is likely to be deployed on Kingfisher’s luxurious flights to Europe and US. Deccan, which Vijay Mallya will fly as an economy carrier to nearby regions like Gulf and southeast Asia, is unlikely to have foreign cabin crew to keep cost low.
“We will be hiring cabin crew from some countries where we plan to fly to ensure a multi-lingual staff for passenger convenience. Europe will be among the places where we will scout for talent,” said sources in the Kingfisher-Deccan combine.
01/04/08 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India