IndiGo pilots, crew to get salary bonus

IndiGo is most profitable domestic airline that recorded Rs 317 cr profit in FY 2014

IndiGo has announced a bonus for its pilots and cabin crew for a fifth year, five per cent of their annual salary, with this month's pay.

IndiGo is the most-profitable and fastest-growing  domestic airline. In 2013-14, the profit was Rs 317 crore; it has 93 Airbus A320 planes.

It is also the highest recruiter among local airlines, with a little over 8,200 employees. This includes about 1,300 pilots and 2,300 cabin crew. However, it has also lost pilots to Gulf airlines and the bonus will help it to check such attrition. Last year, 40 pilots quit the airline.

A majority of the pilots who are leaving or had left are junior commanders, seeking career progression and transition to wide-body aircraft such as the Boeing 777 or Airbus A380. Junior commanders earn Rs 4-4.5 lakh a month; first officers earn Rs 2-2.5 lakh.

Said an arline spokesperson on the bonus: 'This is in line with our past practice. IndiGo has declared a bonus to its crew in seven out of the eight years of its existence. This is the fifth year in a row that IndiGo has paid an annual bonus to crew members. Non-crew employees are given regular performance-based annual increments."