'udChalo' to refund Jet Airways cancellations amount to armed forces personnel

A Pune-based travel firm, udChalo, has decided to refund its customers the amount due from Jet Airways flight cancellations, without waiting for the airline to do the same. The company did not disclose the quantum of the amount but sources said it would be around Rs 6 crore.

udChalo, is a portal founded by wards of Army men and it provides for personal travel needs of armed forces, paramilitary forces and their family members. Its employees comprise military veterans, wards of serving and retired military personnel, and paraplegic and quadriplegic veterans.

Varun Jain, CEO of udChalo.com and son of a retired Colonel, said, "When you service esteemed customers like the armed forces, everything else becomes secondary when compared with the interest of our soldiers".

Disruption of travel plans due to the cancellation itself is distressing for personnel proceeding home after long stints. Delays in getting the refund amount while retention of need to make alternative arrangements have added to this distress for the soldiers, he said. "The company, sensitive to these pain points, has decided to refund its customers for the purpose of alternative flight arrangements without waiting for Jet Airways to refund the amount due from cancellations," Jain said.

Jet Airways on April 17 cancelled all flights, including its international flights temporarily after failing to secure emergency funds from its lenders, according to a statement by the airlines.

The embattled airline said it took this decision after State Bank of India (SBI) on behalf of a consortium of Indian lenders informed that they were unable to consider its request for critical interim funding.