Describing their situation akin to "bonded labour", two Air India pilot unions extended their support to Vistara pilots on Thursday, who have raised grievances regarding the duty roster and the revised salary structure. Amid the slew of flight cancellations and delays, Vistara chief executive officer Vinod Kannan acknowledged on Wednesday that pilot utilisation in the airline was high, and announced plans to scale back its flight schedule and overhaul the rostering system to provide pilots with more rest time.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday agreed with the contention of Akasa Air that the DGCA is not completely barred from taking action against pilots who violate the terms of their employment agreements. However, the court did not grant any immediate relief to Akasa Air which sought direction to the DGCA and Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to take action against its pilots who have resigned without serving the notice period, saying it will first decide the issue of jurisdiction raised by the aviation sector regulator. Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said since the Directorate General of Aviation (DGCA) has contended it has no jurisdiction to consider a representation made by the airline against the defaulting pilots under the extant law as it was a contractual dispute, the court will have to first decide the issue of jurisdiction before passing any other direction.
For the first time ever, Air India (AI) has decided to induct Indian pilots on a five-year contract, giving rise to fear among the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) that sacked pilots might not be inducted on a permanent basis.
Pilots working with Air India have warned of non-co-operation if restoration of pre-Covid overtime allowance is delayed, and if other practices they say are 'discriminatory' continues. "We cannot assure that our members will undertake flying duties exceeding 70 hours a month. Any coercive action by the management will lead to industrial action to safeguard flight safety and well-being of our members," the Indian Commercial Pilots Association and the Indian Pilots Guild said in a joint letter to Air India's management on Tuesday.
Airlines tell Arindam Majumder and Aneesh Phadnis they are forced to look at expats due to a lack of commanders, a position that requires experience.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said it would pronounce on Friday the verdict on the plea of a pilots' body of erstwhile domestic carrier Indian Airlines seeking parity with their counterparts in Air India.
The impasse over reinstatement of 101 sacke pilots of Air India continued as the airlines on Wednesday withdrew from Delhi High Court its proposal after Indian Pilots Guild sought amendments including induction of a retired judge in a manage ment committee formed to deal with it.
Air India pilots, who are up in arms against the airline's management's decision to unilaterally alter their salary structure and services conditions, on Tuesday sought Ratan Tata's intervention in resolving the issue. In a petition, signed by a little over 1,500 Air India pilots, the community alleged that the "pilots' concerns are not being heard or addressed by the current HR team". On April 17, Air India rolled out a revamped compensation structure for its pilots and cabin crew, which has since been rejected by the two pilot unions - Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) and Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) - on the grounds that the airline, in alleged violation of the labour practices, did not consult them before finalising the new contracts.
After the sacking of 101 pilots during the recent 58-day strike, Air India on Friday said it has received representations from 34 of them expressing willingness to join duty.
Adopting a 'carrot and stick' approach towards the 11-day Air India pilots' stir, government on Friday indicated it could take back all those sacked, barring the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) office-bearers, if they resumed duty, as it alerted the IAF to set up medical boards to check pilots who have reported 'sick'.
The division bench of the high court said the IPG cannot 'wilfully and flagrantly' disobey court orders to end their 'illegal' strike and could face contempt action.
More than 150 pilots of Air-India have formed a new union following the derecognition of Indian Pilots Guild in April.\n\n\n\n
A pilots' union of Air India on Wednesday sought the response of the airline management on various issues, including alleged violation of the roster system and career progression policy. The Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) also said that if there is no response in three days, it will be constrained to seek appropriate remedies in accordance with applicable law. In its letter on Wednesday, the grouping said, "we understand the management of Air India is contemplating certain changes to the conditions of service of the pilots".
'During our recent rescue flights, the protective equipment being provided to the flight crew has been failing with an alarming frequency or has been plagued with other issues'
The Indian Pilots' Guild, which is spearheading the agitation and the five-day-old hunger strike, shot off letters to Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi, seeking their 'urgent intervention to resolve the prolonged agitation'.
More than 35 Air-India pilots, owing allegiance to the now derecognised Indian Pilots Guild, have reported for duty, the airline said on Thursday.
Few IPG leaders had also gone to the residence of Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh and submitted the same set of papers.
The carrier will now revise its flight schedule and operate additional services to the Gulf and restore the Chennai-Singapore flights from Sunday.
Air India management has derecognised the pilot's union and terminated the services of 98 pilots.
Two unions representing Air India pilots have asked members not to accept the revised compensation and employment offer, calling the company's proposals "unfair labour practices." They said any coercion on pilots to sign the offer would lead to industrial unrest. The Tata group airline announced on Monday a new salary structure for pilots and cabin crew.
The government on Saturday asked Air India pilots to end their five-day stir before coming for talks as Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh reached out to the Opposition to find ways to end the impasse which has led to the cancellation of at least 16 flights.
Four Air India international flights were cancelled from Delhi and Mumbai today after about 100 pilots refused to join work.
Protesting delayed payment of salaries and allowances, a section of Air India pilots today warned they would not undertake flying duties from April one if their dues were not cleared by then.
The total number of those suspended since the trouble over SARS began has gone up to 27.
Over 20 Air India flights were cancelled on Thursday from Delhi and Mumbai as the agitation by the protesting pilots entered the third day.
Spokesman of the Indian Pilots' Guild, Captain Mahesh Gulwani, said the decision to withdraw the stir followed three rounds of talks with Union Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma.
Air-India has de-recognised the Indian Pilots Guild with immediate effect, suspended 18 more pilots for refusing to fly.
Talks between senior officials of civil aviation ministry and the Indian Pilots Guild began in Mumbai on Saturday shortly after noon to resolve the issue of operating in SARS-affected regions by the unions.
Air India chief Campbell Wilson on Friday said that a majority of pilots have accepted the new compensation package offered last week, amid protests by Air India pilots' unions against the revised salary structure and service conditions. The loss-making airline, which was taken over from the government by the Tata Group in January 2022, has announced a new compensation package for pilots and cabin crew. In his weekly message to Air India staff on Friday, Campbell said the airline is making investments in workplace technology and training as well as in new and improved employee benefits.
Air India has given more time to pilots to accept the revised compensation structure, which has been opposed by two pilot unions, according to a source. The decision to provide more time to pilots who are yet to sign the new contracts also comes days after Air India organised a town hall meeting with many pilots to discuss their concerns. The source said the airline has given time till the end of this week for signing the new contracts apparently due to requests from people who had not earlier accepted the revised compensation structure.
Defying the directive of the Indian Pilots Guild, some pilots of Air-India on Wednesday reported for duty and rostered for flights.
IPG general secretary Capt Vikrant Sansare said the Air-India management 'is aware of it'.
Two pilot unions at Air India have claimed that there is a shortage of pilots to operate the airline's long-haul and ultra-long haul flights. The concerns raised by the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) and Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) also come against the backdrop of the Tatas-owned airline recently cancelling and rescheduling certain flights to and from the North American region due to crew shortage. In a joint letter written to Air India's chief human resources officer Suresh Dutt Tripathi on December 13, the unions said, "...we cannot maintain the printed planned roster due to a shortage of pilots, as CMS (crew management system) does not have standby pilots."
An Air India pilots' grouping has raised fatigue concerns in the wake of flight crew rosters generated using a new rostering tool, saying that extended waiting periods between duty time will jeopardise crew alertness and performance. "Extended waiting periods, occurring before active flight duties, run counter to enhancing crew readiness and, in fact, contribute to the accumulation of fatigue over time," the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) has said. In a letter to Air India head of safety Henry Donohoe last week, IPG said it has been recently observed that the relentless pursuit of operational efficiency and economic gains has led to an unintended overshadowing of the primary intent behind Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) regulations.
"We are meeting the chairman on Thursday to express our view point on his recent directive, barring Air India staff from travelling in business-class/first-class," an Indian Pilots Guild member said. The IGP is opposed to the move on the ground that it would not fetch any financial benefits to the national carrier, the pilot said, adding, "During the meet, IPG would offer alternative strategies which will result in effective means of controlling costs and boosting revenue."
The Mumbai high court on Friday allowed 24 suspended Air-India pilots to join duty and operate flights, but asked them to submit their replies to the chargesheet served on them by the management explaining the reasons for refusal to operate flights.
State-run Air-India said on Sunday it will suspend more pilots for refusing to fly to SARS-affected countries.
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