The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
‘Over 98% of pilots have signed new contracts’
OVER 98 PER CENT of Vistara pilots have accepted the new contracts as per the airline’s revised pay structure, and the carrier is engaging with pilots who still have concerns about the contracts, Vistara’s Chief Executive Officer Vinod Kannan said Saturday. On speculation that pilot exits from Vista ra have gathered pace due to the new pay structure, Kannan said that there has been no“visible spike in attrition”.
“With reference to concerns being raised regarding the new pay structure of our pilots, we would like to clarify that over 98 per cent of pilots have signed the new contract. having said that, we are aware that some pilots have some concerns and queries regarding the contract. We are engaging with them to clarify and resolve the same. However, this has not caused any visible spike in attrition amongst pilots,” Kannan said in a statement. Vistara is estimated to have around 1,000 pilots.
Earlier this week, the Tata group airline was hit by networkwide flight cancellations and delays, which were primarily attributed to non-availability of crew, among other reasons. It is understood that a sizable number of pilots had called in sick, leading to the disruption, which was particularly bad on Monday and Tuesday with over 100 flights being cancelled and many others delayed. the situation has improved since and Kannan said the airline hopes to stabilise operations for there st of april by“this weekend ”.
There appears to be discontent among a section of Vistara pilots, mainly first officers, over the new compensation structure. Accordingto industry sources, vista ra pilots were calling in sick, ostensiblyto register their protest against the new pay structure that is in line with that of the Tata group’s flagship airline air india. as per the new pay structure for Vistara pilots announced in February, they will be eligible for guaranteed pay for 40 hours, down from the 70 hours in their earlier contracts with the airline. This, many pilots fear, could lead to a notable cut in their take-home salaries.
“We would like to again clarify that these disruptions were due to the cascading effect of a multitude of factors. While we do have adequate crew for normal operations, since we have been operating on ahighu ti lisa ti on, we were challenged due to operational disruption ... we acknowledge the inconvenience this has caused to our customers and sincerely apologise to them for the same,” Kannan said on Saturday.