Tata’s IndiGo pilot poach plan hits turbulence at home: Air India Express A320 pilots oppose hiring push

Around 100 Air India Express A320 pilots have opposed external recruitment, warning it could reduce flying hours and pay as the airline prepares to return aircraft to lessors.

Air India Group’s move to recruit experienced Airbus A320 pilots, widely seen as an attempt to tap IndiGo’s pilot pool amid the rival carrier’s recent disruptions, has triggered internal pushback at Air India Express, with pilots warning the hiring could further depress aircraft utilisation and hit earnings.

About 100 A320 pilots at Air India Express have written to the airline’s management opposing external recruitment, according to a report by The Times of India published on December 13, 2025.

Air India Express operates around 110 aircraft across fleets, roughly 76 Boeing 737s and 34 A320-family planes that entered the airline after Air India Group’s consolidation of Air India, Air India Express and AirAsia India, The Times of India reported.

Pilots say the timing of recruitment is the problem: at least 10 A320 aircraft are expected to be returned to lessors early next year, creating a gap between aircraft exits and future inductions that could reduce available flying.

Several A320 pilots at Air India Express remain on fixed contracts that guarantee pay for 40 flying hours, a threshold introduced during the Covid-19 period when utilisation fell and airlines cut back guarantees to manage costs, as cited by The Times of India.

In their letters, pilots questioned why the airline would expand the A320 cockpit roster when the A320 fleet is set to shrink in the near term, warning it could make it harder for existing crew to reach the flying hours that underpin their compensation.

The contract flashpoint: 'Surplus captains' vs fresh hiring

A key grievance is what pilots describe as inconsistent messaging. A320 aviators told management they have repeatedly been informed over the past year that the group is 'surplus' on A320 captains, cited as the basis for maintaining 40-hour fixed contracts rather than restoring pre-pandemic 70-hour guarantees, according to The Times of India.

“Please clarify the rationale for initiating external recruitment now,” pilots said in letters quoted by The Times of India, also asking whether resignations in the A320 fleet are being addressed through retention or re-engagement rather than new hiring.

Air India Express has an estimated 1,600 pilots across its fleets, The Times of India reported.

The wider backdrop: DGCA fatigue rules and IndiGo’s disruption

The hiring push comes as India’s tightened fatigue-management rules (FDTL norms) have disrupted IndiGo’s operations and reshaped how airlines think about pilot availability.

India’s updated regime increased weekly rest requirements and sharply reduced the number of night landings a pilot can perform, measures aimed at reducing cumulative fatigue. The changes hit IndiGo particularly hard.

Reuters said some elements of the new rules were temporarily suspended for IndiGo until February 10 to stabilise operations.

IndiGo has attributed disruption to multiple factors including technology glitches, adverse weather, airport congestion and the new rules, and said it had made “calibrated adjustments” to schedules, according to The Times of India report referenced in the pilots’ letters and recruitment context.

One original context point: Tata’s consolidation has a history with pilot flashpoints

This isn’t the first time Tata’s aviation overhaul has collided with cockpit morale. In May 2024, the Financial Times reported on operational stress and labour tensions during Tata’s Air India transformation, underscoring how staffing and rostering disputes can quickly spill into cancellations and brand damage.

What makes the current episode different is the collision of two forces at once: a near-term A320 capacity dip at Air India Express (from aircraft returns) alongside a sector-wide pilot supply squeeze created by the DGCA’s fatigue rules, even as competitors’ disruption makes experienced pilots suddenly 'available.'