Wolfgang Prock Schauer, who quit GoAir as its chief executive officer following differences with its promoters, has been accused of data theft.
Prock Schauer joined rival IndiGo as its chief operating officer in January-end and GoAir sues him in the Bombay High Court within weeks of his appointment. In its suit, GoAir sought to restrain Prock Schauer from disclosing confidential information and poaching employees. Rival IndiGo has not been named as a defendant in the suit to be heard in June.
GoAir declined to comment on the issue. Senior counsel Janak Dwarkadas who is representing Prock Schauer said he has been made a scapegoat in a fight between two competitors.
Austrian national Prock Schauer who previously headed Jet Airways joined GoAir as its CEO in 2015. His contract with the airline was to expire in June but he quit few months in advance. It was not a happy parting.
"There were differences between him and the promoters on strategy and way forward for GoAir," say sources.
The company had begun realigning management structure last year ahead of Prock Schauer's departure and he was being virtually sidelined, the sources added.
Roles like network planning and revenue management were brought under chief commercial officer Anand Sahai. Sahai also quit the airline late last year.
An Economic Times report in February said that Wadias, promoters of GoAir, were upset with Prock Schauer over the hiring of foreign pilots as this inflated the airline's salary bill.