The shortage of pilots in India is becoming more of a problem, forcing Air India Express to give its cockpit crew sizeable pay rises to prevent them from defecting to other carriers.
Air India Express was launched last year by Air India as an international low-cost airline but it has struggled to keep pilots from joining other airlines that offer more pay.
As a result, the Air India board has approved a proposal to give pilots at the subsidiary big pay rises, which some reports say will amount to around 20% in terms of basic salary. Benefits are also set to increase.
Air India Express operates three leased Boeing 737-800s. Four are to be added between February and April and the carrier is seeking to lease three more, in addition to having 18 on order.
The carrier admits it will have trouble crewing the additional aircraft – Air India Express has suffered particularly badly as its pay rates have been below those of rivals. ■
Source: Airline Business
