IndiGo to hike salaries of pilots after record breaking Q1FY24 performance

IndiGo

The largest domestic airline in India, IndiGo said that it will increase the salaries of its pilots and cabin crew after posting a record net profit of Rs 3,090 crore in the first quarter of 2023-24.

The airline has started the performance review for nearly 4,500 flight crew and new salaries will come into effect from October 1.

“While we regained and started to build our financial strength over this past year, we reviewed and reinstated salaries and allowances to pre-Covid levels. In the coming months, we will be working with our HR team towards enhancing the salaries of our flight crew. The revised salary structure will be effective October 1,” said the airline’s senior vice-president (flight operations) Ashim Mitra, wrote in a staff email on August 2, which was seen by Moneycontrol.

The salary hikes are likely to be in the range of high single-digit to mid-teens increases on the base salaries, senior executives from IndiGo said.

The hike comes just a few months after the airline announced bonuses of 3 percent of salary to its crew after the airline recorded a profit in the January-March quarter.

IndiGo is also introducing a policy that will enable ATR-72 aircraft pilots to transition to the Airbus fleet. IndiGo operates 39 ATR-72 planes and is the largest operator of the aircraft type in India.

It has now logged three consecutive profitable quarters in a row.

Also Read : Record profits but heightened competition: Brokerages retain ratings on IndiGo amid challenges

The move of increasing pay also comes at a time when rival airlines have announced a substantial hike in salaries in the past few months. In June, Akasa Air raised the salary of its pilots' by up to 40 percent, after Air India had hiked the salaries of its pilots by 20 percent.

Indian airlines are expected to face stiff competition to keep a hold of pilots and also hire new pilots at a time when they are trying to expand both internationally and domestically with a workforce that was cut during the pandemic.

Three major Indian airlines-- market leader IndiGo, Tata-backed Air India and India's youngest airline Akasa Air -- together plan to hire over 1,000 pilots this year.

Demand of senior commanders and trainers is especially expected to be very large in the market at the moment as airlines are increasing their fleet and network.

Interglobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo, recently reported its  profit of Rs 3,090 crore in the June quarter of 2023-2024.

Also Read: IndiGo: Numbers fly high, a flight for the long haul

Revenue from operations rose nearly 30 percent on a year-on year basis to Rs 16,683.1 crore with an increase in capacity and the load factor.

IndiGo has earlier announced that it will hire 5,000-6,000 employees in 2023-24 as it continues its expansion plan within India and overseas.

At the moment the airline is facing a shortage of pilots on its ATR fleet, with captains exiting the airline to join other carriers after completion of their three year service bonds.

As of June, IndiGo operated 316 aircraft, including a mix of Airbus and ATR-72 aircraft. The airline has two Boeing 777 aircraft on wet-lease from Turkish Airlines.