-
Air India
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- AI/AIC
- Airline Type:
- Full Service Carrier
- Hub(s):
- Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport
- Year Founded:
- 1946
- Alliance:
- Star Alliance
- CEO:
- Campbell Wilson
- Country:
- India
- Region:
- Asia
Air India is reportedly asking some of its retired pilots to join back as it looks to scale operations soon. With plenty of changes within the airline, including a potentially large order with Airbus, it is busy restructuring its workforce.
Pilots needed
Air India anticipates a shortage of qualified pilots for future operations and is looking at the recently retired batch to fulfill the demand for the next few years. According to The Times of India, the airline has sent a letter to around 55 retired pilots with plans to rehire them. More than 45 are believed to have said yes.
The letter said that they are being considered for a post-retirement contract as Air India commanders for 5 years or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. “During the period of post-retirement contract, you will be paid the remuneration and flying allowances, as admissible, as per policy of Air India to such appointments,” the communication stated.
New order fuels demand
The reason behind a sudden need for pilots is said to be the large number of airplanes that are slated to join the airline’s fleet in the near future. Air India is reportedly set to receive around 200 to 300 aircraft from Airbus. Around 70% of the order is believed to be for narrowbody airplanes and the remaining for the widebody A350s.
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The airline is looking to hire senior commanders as it will be difficult to find experienced pilots in large numbers to meet its immediate demands. The TOI quotes a source familiar with the matter as saying,
“Fleet expansion is a complicated business, especially for an airline like Air India that has a mix of Boeing and Airbus aircraft. Air India needs pilots. The first batch of pilots t0 be trained on the A350 will be senior pilots, the designated examiners and instructors. The airline will need to fill the posts they leave behind, but it’s not possible to expedite this kind of training and so there will be a shortage of cockpit crew, both on wide- and narrowbody fleets in the coming year.”
Retirement age
The latest development comes even as the airline is looking to trim its workforce for other departments by offering a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS). It applies to some of the carrier’s permanent employees who have reached the age of 55 or have completed 20 years in the company. It is estimated that the scheme covers around 3,000 employees on the airline’s payroll.
However, pilots were not included in that scheme. The retirement age for Air India pilots is 58 years, like all other employees. On the other hand, private airlines keep their pilots up to the age of 65. With Air India now becoming a private player itself, perhaps this could be one of the future changes within the airline.
Before the COVID outbreak, Air India used to rehire retired pilots on contract, but the practice was discontinued in 2020. The contracts of such pilots were also terminated following the pandemic.
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Source: The Times of India