New Delhi, Feb. 27: Kingfisher Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya has sent an email to his employees saying he has organised funds to pay overdue salaries and will reward employees who stay committed to the carrier.

Kingfisher has not paid salaries for the last six months and lost more than 80 pilots in the last four months.

Mallya blamed the tax authorities for his woes and said that efforts were being made to pay “seriously overdue” salaries.

“I have organised funding so that we can pay your seriously overdue salaries which is a source of great personal sorrow for me. We are currently handicapped as our bank accounts are frozen by the tax authorities,” Mallya said.

According to latest figures, Kingfisher has suffered a loss of Rs 1,027 crore in 2010-11, with debts of Rs 7,057.08 crore. The ailing carrier has suffered a Rs 444-crore loss in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, in an interview to a British newspaper, Mallya claimed that Kingfisher was in talks with two foreign carriers for an equity tie-up that could be announced within days. He, however, did not identify the two carriers.

The market was abuzz with rumours that International Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways and Iberia, and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways might be involved in talks with Mallya for a stake in Kingfisher. However, IAG has said in a statement, “The process to allow foreign airlines to invest in Indian carriers has not yet been fully approved, so it would be wrong to speculate about IAG’s interest in any Indian airlines at this stage.”