AI pilots fail to do a Jet

The threat of Air India pilots to disrupt operations today because of a proposed salary cut failed to have any significant impact. Agitating executive pilots claimed 400 pilots remained off duty. But a spokesperson for National Aviation Company of India, which runs the airline, claimed only 20 pilots reported sick.

As a result, only 11 domestic flights were cancelled, including flights from Delhi to Lucknow and Srinagar. Air India operates around 400 flights in a day and has a market share of 16.6 per cent. “All the 58 international flights operated normally,” said the spokesperson.

The pilots of Jet Airways had recently gone on sick leave demanding reinstatement of two colleagues and had brought the operations of the airline to a standstill. But the agitation of the Air India pilots has not resulted in anything like that so far. The management of the airline will meet the pilots tomorrow to discuss the issue.

The pilots are protesting the reduction in their productivity-linked incentives (PLI) and flying allowance, which they say has brought down their salary by 70 per cent. “We also have the support of line pilots (pilots who are a part of the two unions, India Commercial Pilots’ Association and Indian Pilots’ Guild). Talks are on and line pilots will soon join us,” said RK Bhalla, leader of the agitating pilots.

However, ICPA, which is the larger of the two pilot unions of Air India, will not go on strike as salaries of its members have not been cut, said an ICPA representative.

Bhalla had claimed yesterday that he had the support of 400 executive pilots of Air India. But Air India refuted it saying the airline has only 319 executive pilots on its rolls, out of which 157 are of the erstwhile Indian Airlines. “They have cut both our variable pay by 50 per cent and 20 per cent by cutting other emoluments, which has brought our salary down by 70 per cent,” said Bhalla.

The NACIL board had on Wednesday approved a cut ranging from 25 per cent for those getting PLI of Rs 10,000 or less to 50 per cent for those receiving PLI or flying related allowances of Rs 2 lakh or more per month.