Air India Express pays salaries to its staff

New Delhi: The cash crunch inAir India is now creating unprecedented cases. Last Friday,AI Express paid salaries to the 975 staffers on its rolls.
Since employees of AI and erstwhileIndian Airlines are not paid, the 200-odd senior people from these airlines sent on deputation to AI Express did not get salaries. This list includes the low-cost carrier's chief executive officer and 100 of its top pilots.
Sources said the low-cost carrier's (LCC) management decided to pay salaries, unlike the cash-strapped AI - since a large percentage of its staffers earn less than Rs 12,000 a month. The LCC's cabin crew also gets about Rs 30,000 a month - mush lower than their AI counterparts.
"AI Express started out as a ground handling agency so it has a large number of lowpaid staffers on contract. The monthly wage bill was something the airline could afford to pay and, hence, on humanitarian grounds the LCC went ahead. But only AI Express staffers (all of whom are on contract) could be paid and not AI and IA employees on deputation here," said sources.
Ironically, a pay disparity led to the LCC finding it affordable to pay salaries unlike the parent AI. Commanders and co-pilots on the rolls of AI Express get Rs 4.5 lakh and Rs 1.9 lakh a month, respectively.
25/07/11 Saurabh Sinha/Economic Times

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Categories: Air India Budget Jul 2011, Air India Jul 2011