New Delhi: Air India's Boeing 777s fly the farthest in the airline's network - including on the Delhi-San Francisco route that is one of the longest nonstops on earth - but its pilots face a 10 per cent salary cut under the new pay structure. The airline stares at an exodus of these pilots to foreign, especially Gulf carriers, who are luring them with 1.5 times the pay they currently get, and that too tax free.
"AI widebody pilots get up to Rs 10 lakh a month. Under the new pay structure, pilots of the Boeing 777 and Boeing 747 face a 10 per cent cut as these planes do not fly as much. Pilots of the Boeing 787 (the third widebody in AI fleet) do not face this issue as they fly a lot. B-777 and 747 pilots have raised the issue with the airline and AI chief Ashwini Lohani is looking into this," said a senior official.
The pay cut for B-777 and 747 pilots comes due to three reasons. AI widebody pilots used to get $12,000 every month as flying allowance. Of this, $6,000 was paid in dollars and the balance in INR at an exchange rate of Rs 45. "Now the entire $12,000 will be paid in INR at the exchange rate of Rs 45. So, the loss is about Rs 25 (the difference at exchange rate of Rs 70) for $6,000 or Rs 1.5 lakh a month," said an official.
Secondly, widebody pilots used to get $2,000 as layover allowance irrespective of their actual flying. Now they will get $150 and $300 for each day spent in Europe and America, respectively, on duty. On an average, B-777 and 747 pilots will face a cut of $500 to $800 every month. And finally, pilots have to fly a minimum of 40 hours to get their fixed pay for 70 hours.
29/06/16 Economic Times
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"AI widebody pilots get up to Rs 10 lakh a month. Under the new pay structure, pilots of the Boeing 777 and Boeing 747 face a 10 per cent cut as these planes do not fly as much. Pilots of the Boeing 787 (the third widebody in AI fleet) do not face this issue as they fly a lot. B-777 and 747 pilots have raised the issue with the airline and AI chief Ashwini Lohani is looking into this," said a senior official.
The pay cut for B-777 and 747 pilots comes due to three reasons. AI widebody pilots used to get $12,000 every month as flying allowance. Of this, $6,000 was paid in dollars and the balance in INR at an exchange rate of Rs 45. "Now the entire $12,000 will be paid in INR at the exchange rate of Rs 45. So, the loss is about Rs 25 (the difference at exchange rate of Rs 70) for $6,000 or Rs 1.5 lakh a month," said an official.
Secondly, widebody pilots used to get $2,000 as layover allowance irrespective of their actual flying. Now they will get $150 and $300 for each day spent in Europe and America, respectively, on duty. On an average, B-777 and 747 pilots will face a cut of $500 to $800 every month. And finally, pilots have to fly a minimum of 40 hours to get their fixed pay for 70 hours.
29/06/16 Economic Times
