Some pilots tender resignations amid disagreement with management at Tata Group airlines, Air India dismisses claims

Some pilots tender resignations amid disagreement with management at Tata Group airlines, Air India dismisses claims

Several pilots working with Vistara and Air India have resigned because of dissatisfaction with the management’s response to concerns regarding new employment contract terms, which according to them could potentially slash take-home pay, multiple sources aware of the development told Moneycontrol.

A senior Air India official in the know told Moneycontrol that since March 28, around many senior first officers from Air India had quit. This was validated by at least 4 pilots who were privy to the information.

Air India denied this. “There is no truth in your assertion about First Officers resigning from Air India,” a spokesperson said.

Pilots who spoke to Moneycontrol, many of whom shared screenshots of the resignation files, said that they took the decision after talks with the management did not yield any results.

In the case of Vistara, at least 7 pilots said that a total of 20 pilots have tendered resignation, a claim verified by senior company officials who did not wish to be quoted.

Vistara did not respond to detailed queries sent by Moneycontrol on Monday.

“The management told us that if we say no to the new contract, we will not be eligible for any further upgrade… Fatigue is not the issue, it is one among the many issues being faced at the moment. A lot of pilots are facing the respect issue, they are unhappy with how the new Singaporean management is treating pilots,” a Vistara pilot told Moneycontrol requesting anonymity.

Vistara is a joint venture of Tata Sons and SIA. Tata Sons holds 51 percent, and Singapore Airlines own 49 percent. Air India is owned by Talace Private Limited, a fully owned subsidiary of Tata Sons.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan had said that the flight disruptions at the airline will end by next week.

The Context

On April 1, the domestic carrier said that it would temporarily reduce the number of scheduled flights to “ensure adequate connectivity across its network”, saying it was facing issues of “crew unavailability”.

While pilots have said that they took leave to express their displeasure towards the terms of the new contract. Vistara has maintained that the disruptions happened due to the airline running on full capacity, leaving no room for disruptions.

On April 17, 2023, Air India had came out with a revised compensation package and new service terms and conditions for pilots and cabin crew of Air India, Air India Express and AIX Connect.

Last year in May, Air India’s pilot unions the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) and the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) had also protested against he new contracts offered by the Tata Group.

The two unions had rejected the new service terms, saying they were unilateral, draconian and anti-labour. They later backed down and withdrew opposition to the new employment and wage contract.

The Issue

An Air India pilot told Moneycontrol that lower guaranteed flying hours has been a cause for concern for the airline’s junior pilots over the last year as some pilots are missing out on promotions and increments due to limited working hours.

“There have been cases where the promotions and increments of first officers have been delayed by months due to lower flying hours,” an Air India pilot said.

He added that the lower guaranteed flying hours also disincentive pilots from taking sick leave.

In order to fly close to 70 hours, first officers avoid applying for sick leave, despite being tired, and instead wait for flying opportunities by remaining on the active roster, the aforementioned pilot told Moneycontrol.

Both Vistara and Air India operate around 320 domestic daily flights. Vistara has a fleet of 70 aircraft Air India has a fleet of 137 aircraft. While Vistara has more than 1,100 pilots on its payroll, Air India employs close to 2,400 pilots.

Pilots of both airlines have pointed out that under the new contracts, guaranteed minimum flying allowance is reduced from 70 hours to 40 hours resulting in a monthly pay cut of Rs 1 lakh for First Officers.

Around two weeks ago, many pilots at Vistara had taken sick leave which caused the airline to cancel 150 flights and suffer delays to more than 200 other flights around March 25-28.

On April 4, two Air India pilots unions wrote a letter to Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran on April 4, in support of Vistara Pilots, urging the leadership to engage in constructive dialogue with pilots and take proactive measures to address their grievances.

The unions also have complained about an unsupportive work environment. One allegation in the letter is that some pilots who have felt threatened and intimidated may be reluctant to report safety concerns.

“The problem is the attitude of the airlines towards the pilots. The main issue is related to the salaries under the revised contract. The disruption has nothing to do with the pilot shortage and fatigue. Fatigue is governed by applicable FDTL regulations Hawkeye monitored by the DGCA, so terming this pilot imbroglio as ‘fatigue’ risks a DGCA audit along with heavy fines ,” said Mark Martin, CEO of Martin Consulting, an aviation consultancy.