Pilots crying over pay cuts? Aviation isn't half as badly hit as the IT cos

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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Shishir Asthana
Moneycontrol Research

At a time when we hear of job losses in information technology sector, there is news coming from the aviation sector which points to a similar downturn.

After asking its junior pilots to take a 30 percent pay cut, Jet Airways has now requested junior pilots to furnish surety bonds worth Rs 1 crore and serve the airline for at least five to seven years.

Earlier Jet Airways had asked its junior pilots to take 10 days leave every month, resulting in a 30 percent pay cut. Reports say that the trainee pilots will now be asked to furnish surety bonds worth Rs 1 crore. The junior pilots will have to serve the airline for 5-7 years and face encashment of the bond in case of failure to serve that tenure. The airline company employs more than 200 junior pilots, including those undergoing training.

Air India On A Wing And A Prayer

Unlike IT sector, the pilots need to be thankful that they at least have a job, albeit their bank accounts are not swelling as they used to.

However, there is a market anomaly here. India with a growth of over 17 percent is one of the fastest growing airline market globally. Almost every airline company in the country has announced fleet expansion. In such a condition it is natural to expect that pilots will have no problem in getting hired and finding a plane to fly.

But pilots are suffering from supply side problems. Apart from the traditional route of getting a pilot licence from international courses, there are a number of private schools that have opened up in India which add to the number of candidates entering the market with a pilot licence.

Candidates with pilot licence have been known to wait for years and taking odd jobs including working with airlines as pursers in the hope that they will get a chance to be called by airline companies to work as junior pilots.

Added to the problem is the availability of foreign pilots in the country. Many airlines use the services of foreign pilots who have clocked in the required flying hours for new aircraft.

In such a situation, the trainee and junior pilots have little choice than to accept the airline's condition. Though a 5-7 year bond for staying with the job may sound like bonded labour, pilots would not be complaining as they have a job in hand. Finding senior pilots with relevant flying hours might take some time for airline companies but hiring junior pilots can be faster.

The airline company too benefits from lower costs as well as from continuity of operation of the pilots. As in the case of IT companies other airline players might be tempted to announce similar moves.

With Air India likely to be divested and the UDAN scheme of the Aviation Ministry of connecting smaller cities to be implemented, the future looks bright for the pilots beyond the present pain point.

For investors of Jet Airways, lower cost and re-alignment of its crew is a step in the right direction.