The Jet Airways chairman, Naresh Goyal, caught everyone by surprise when he announced the reinstatement of all the 1,900 employees who were laid off. Calling it an emotional and a conscientious decision, he said he could not sleep last night after he saw tears in eyes of his employees who were sacked. He offered an apology to the sacked employees for the trauma the lay off had caused to them.

Swearing upon his mother, who is no more, Goyal insisted that it was a personal decision and that there was no pressure from any quarter. He also stressed that the sacking had nothing to do with the Jet Airways alliance with Kingfisher Airlines. He further stated that he had not met any politician or any managerial staff.

Goyal explained that he took this decision as the patriarch of the Jet family and that he would expect the management to work out the modalities to make the operations of Jet Airways viable. He admitted that cost cutting measures were discussed at the board meeting and that he did not realize that it would end up this way.

Naresh Goyal announced that even his senior management including the executive director Saroj Dutta did not know about his decision. The only person with whom he had shared his decision before making the announcement was his wife who is standing by him in this crisis. Essentially, this is more of a decision from the heart than from the head. In a voice choked with emotion, he said he made a humble beginning in his career and that he realizes the pain of the employees who had taken home loans on the strength of their jobs.

One of the things that Goyal emphasized was that Jet Airways needs to take a look at cost cutting measures to make its operations profitable. Such measures could include leasing airplanes, selling some of them and reworking routes and schedules as also salary cuts. He also hoped that the government would in some way assist the airlines in coming out of this financial mess.

Though Goyal’s decision has been welcomed by one and all, the fact remains that Jet Airways as well as the aviation industry in general are in dire straights. So, implementing Goyal’s decision is going to be all that easy. Obviously, all concerned will have to work on long term solutions to the problems ailing the aviation industry.

All said and done, this is the best Diwali gift Goyal could have offered to the members of the Jet family as the head of the family.

Naresh Goyal deserves to be lauded for his effort to bring back cheer on the faces of Jet employees who were sacked. His emotional announcement brought about one of those rare moments which had the magical effect of turning the tears in the eyes of the sacked Jet employees into tears of joy.