Ready for salary cut, but first fire expats, say Jet pilots

Mumbai : Even as Jet Airways pilots mull over the management’s proposal to take a 10 per cent cut in their salaries, they are adamant on their demand that the company should first fire all expatriate pilots who are contracted at higher costs before accepting any salary cuts.
Speaking to The Indian Express on condition of anonymity, a Jet airways senior commander admitted that there was a consensus among most pilots that the 10-per cent cut in their salaries was inevitable, but said the pilots’ stand on their expatriate counterparts would remain intact. “Roughly, an airline can hire five Indian pilots for every three expatriate pilots,” said an Indian commander working for India’s largest private carrier. Officials at Jet Airways could not be reached for their comments.
The issue goes back to 2004 when India’s aviation industry witnessed a boom and the entry of low-cost carriers added large capacity to the market which could not be met by the existing pool of Indian pilots, most of whom lacked flying experience required to pilot the 737-800s and A320s. And therefore hiring expatriate pilots on contract basis became a trend. But, according to another senior Indian commander, contracts of expatriate pilots are always renewed and batches of Indian pilots who are now ready to pilot larger aircraft are not given a chance to do the same.
26/11/08 Shashank Shekhar/Indian Express

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Categories: Jet Airways Nov 2008