Jet shows pink slips to 800 employees

8220;The economic viability of the industry has been severely affected by the record high fuel prices and most recently due to the crisis of the financial markets globally and the downturn in traffic,8221; Jet said, adding the job cuts were not the result of a planned cost-saving alliance with Kingfisher Airlines. 8220;Jet Airways expects these difficult market conditions to continue.8221;

The Indian aviation industry, which has combined revenue of 6 billion, is expected to lose 2 billion in the year to March 2009, Jet said.

Shares in the company closed down 7.6 percent at 267.45 rupees in a Mumbai market that fell 5.9 percent.

In September, Jet had said it and its budget arm JetLite offered 526 flights daily with a fleet of 109 aircraft.

On Monday Jet Airways and No.2 private carrier Kingfisher Airlines, which between them have about 60 percent of the domestic market, agreed on an alliance to cut costs through code-sharing, sharing of ticketing, ground services, joint fuel management, crew training and utilisation.