Over 20 Air India flights were cancelled on Thursday from Delhi and Mumbai as the agitation by the protesting pilots entered the third day.
Air-India has de-recognised the Indian Pilots Guild with immediate effect, suspended 18 more pilots for refusing to fly.
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'.
"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."
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.
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.
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.
IPG general secretary Capt Vikrant Sansare said the Air-India management 'is aware of it'.
Air India's pilot unions on Monday alleged that working conditions are hostile at the airline and sought Tata group chairman N Chandrasekaran's intervention to resolve the issues. Tata group took control of loss-making Air India in January this year. The two pilot unions -- IPG and ICPA -- claimed that despite its unflinching support extended to Air India in its growth and expansion plan, the management has not reciprocated in the same manner.
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 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.
The national carrier currently has 15 recognised trade unions.
Citing various aspects, the forum has appealed to the DGCA to "withdraw the harsh punishment and suspension of the PIC". it said.
The ongoing Air India crisis deepens further as it enters the fourth day on Friday and there seems to be no respite as the situation is turning from bad to worse.
The Air India board has cleared a proposal for sending its pilots on deputation to its budget arm, Air India Express, which has been facing shortage of commanders for some time now.
Disciplinary action against 45 suspended pilots would also be taken to its logical conclusion, they added.
While all flights to Western destinations -- Frankfurt, Paris, London, New York, New Jersey and Chicago will be operated, changes have been effected in the schedule of services to the Gulf and South East Asia.
Air-India operated 4 of its scheduled international flights from Mumbai while the management sent letters to the Indian Pilots Guild asking it to withdraw all directives about operations to the SARS-affected regions.
Air-India on Saturday announced a revised flight schedule from Mumbai for May 4-7, pending restoration of normalcy in flight operations on the withdrawal of directives by the de-recognised Indian Pilots Guild.
Air-India has temporarily suspended its flights from Delhi and Hyderabad to Singapore with effect from Monday due to SARS and the Indian Pilots Guild's decision not to operate flights to Singapore.
Air India is in a better state now than it was when Lohani's predecessor took over in 2011, four years after a merger with state-run carrier Indian Airlines.
The national carrier has drawn a blueprint to cut the number of recognised unions in the airline from 15 to two -- one for pilots and another for the rest of the employees.
Federation of Indian Airlines has appealed to DGCA to extend notice period of flyers from 6 months to a year
The summer schedule of flights of all other domestic airlines such as Vistara, IndiGo, Air India and GoAir have been approved till October 26.
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