New Delhi, Sep 11 - Jet Airways cancelled some 170 flights Friday as the impasse with pilots continued for the fourth day, though the two sides began a marathon round of talks since noon with the hope of finding a solution 'soon'.

At the initiative of Chief Labour Commissioner S.K. Mukhopadhyay, the representatives of pilots, reporting sick since Tuesday, and the Jet Airways management started their talks in a bid to end the stand-off.

'Our discussions with the management have been positive. We are really hopeful,' Girish Kaushik, president of the newly formed National Aviators Guild, told reporters ahead of the meeting.

'We hope to arrive at a solution soon.'

The main demand of the pilots is the reinstatement of four of their colleagues, who were sacked by the carrier. The pilots say the four were sacked because they helped form the new union.

Apart from the Mukhopadhyay and Kaushik, the conciliation talks were being attended by Jet Airways executive director Saroj Dutta and the airlines' chief operating officer Hamid Ali.

Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress MP from Maharashtra Sanjay Nirupam, who were among those who sought to mediate the talks, said late Thursday that the impasse would end within 48 hours.

In the four days since the pilots started their mass sick leave, over 850 flights have been cancelled and inconvenienced several thousand passengers, especially during its first two days.