Air India CEO Campbell Wilson says majority of pilots have accepted new contracts

Campbell Wilson

Air India chief Campbell Wilson on April 28 said 90 percent of the airline's cabin crew and a majority of pilots have accepted the new compensation package offered by the airline.

“I’m pleased to report that 90 percent of cabin crew and a majority of pilots have received and accepted the new compensation package offered last week, which will be backdated to 1 April 2023,” Wilson said in an internal email to the employees of Air India.

However, many pilots told Moneycontrol that Air India pilots, who are a part of the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) and Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) have not signed the new contracts offered by the airline.

Air India, including Air India Express, has around 3,000 pilots and close to 6,000 cabin crew on its payroll.

The email by Wilson comes in the wake of around 1,500 Air India pilots writing a letter to Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, seeking his intervention over the airline’s proposed revised terms and conditions of service.

ICPA and IPG on April 21 sent legal notices to Air India over the revised compensation package.

“While pilots have been coerced into signing the new contracts and most feel like they have no option but to sign with the new deals, sentiments still remain low,” a pilot working for Air India told Moneycontrol.

He added that despite signing new contracts, pilots are hopeful that the issues highlighted by them in their letter to the airline's top management will be looked at.

The airline's CEO, in his weekly email to employees, said that Air India's implementation team will continue to engage and resolve queries around crew fatigue and current roster instability in the next few weeks.

He also said that Air India will be implementing the Jeppesen rostering tools for cabin crew from August.

Air India and some of its pilots have been at loggerheads after the airline failed to address any of the pilots’ concerns surrounding the airline’s recently announced work conditions and pay structure.

Last week, the Tata Group-owned airline announced a new salary structure for pilots and cabin crew but the staff was unhappy with the revisions. Their main contention was about promoting captains with more than four years of experience in management.

In a communication to all employees including pilots and crew members, Air India said that last week, they announced the revision of their employment contracts and revised compensation for flying staff.

Air India held a town hall meeting on April 25 but failed to answer questions about the newly revised pay structure of its pilots.

“Pilots need to be heard at this critical juncture on Air India’s aviation ascendancy. There needs to be better harmony between the management and the pilots for smooth operations and strong growth,” an Air India pilot said.

On April 27, Air India also issued an advertisement stating that it is looking to hire over 1,000 pilots.

The airline has embarked on a five-year transformation under which it seeks to expand routes and flights and increase market share in both domestic and international segments, and has also placed a firm order for 470 aircraft.

As part of consolidating its airline business, the Tata Group is in the process of merging Air India Express and AIX Connect, as well as Vistara with Air India. Vistara is a joint venture between Air India and Singapore Airlines.