Air India gives pilots a week to sign revised contracts 

Tata-owned Air India has given its pilots extended time to go over and accept the revised compensation structure, which has been opposed by two pilot unions. The airline has given the pilots till the end of this week to sign new contracts with the revised pay structure. 

According to a PTI report, this decision to extend came on May 9 and comes shortly after the airline had conducted a town hall meeting with several pilots going over their concerns.

The report stated that nearly 800 pilots had attended the town hall meeting, which took place on May 4. The meeting was headed by Air India’s Chief of Operations, Captain Rajwinder Singh. The Captain addressed all issues regarding the revised contracts, assuring pilots that no clause would be misused. He also addressed issues of seniority, career progression and other related topics. 

The initial deadline for accepting the revised structure was April 30th. Air India has refused to comment on the deadline extension.

This extension coincidentally arrives shortly after Go First has cancelled all its flights up till May 12th citing ‘operational reasons’ as the cause for doing so. This crisis at Go First has opened up job opportunities for many of the pilots working there and has resulted in many of them seeking jobs elsewhere. 

On April 28, Air India chief Campbell Wilson stated that a majority of the pilots had accepted the new contracts and gushed about the investments the airline is making in improving the technology and employee benefits.

"On the latter front, I'm pleased to report that 90 per cent of cabin crew and a majority of pilots have received and accepted the new compensation package offered last week, which will be back-dated to 1 April 2023," he said.

As per the revised pay structure, pilots at Air India will be given an assured 40 hours of flying allowance per month - down from the 70 that they were offered pre-revision and before the pandemic. 

Two Pilot Unions - the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) and the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), have opposed the revision. Air India has refused to recognize these unions, stating that there is “no recognized union in Air India”. 

Also read: Air India VRS: Tata-owned airline extends last date to May 31

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