Air India defers training to avert stir

New Delhi: In a bid to avert yet another strike, Air India has deferred pilot training for Boeing 787 Dreamliner by about a month.
A set of pilots of erstwhile AI, a commander and his co-pilot who were to reach UK on Tuesday for getting trained at a facility near London Gatwick, are being asked to return to Delhi. Now only two of their colleagues are undergoing 787 simulator training in Singapore. They have not been recalled as the training slots have started and leaving them mid-way to join later would mean unnecessary expenditure.
While the reason given for deferring the training is to ensure optimal crew utilization in the coming foggy season, sources said the management would in this time try to resolve the crisis sparked by its decision to allow erstwhile Indian Airlines pilots to also fly the B-787. Pilots of erstwhile AI claim exclusive right over flying this new machine and are holding a ballot on whether they should strike work on this issue.Talks between the management and erstwhile AI pilots' union, Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), in Delhi on Tuesday remained inconclusive to resolve the crisis.
Aviation minister Vayalar Ravi said, "AI management is in talks with their association. We are trying to resolve it."
The airline said in a statement that its flight operations were normal. While this is true for flights operated by erstwhile AI and IA, low cost carrier (LLC) AI Express has been caught in the crossfire. About 23 to 24 of the LCC pilots have been reporting sick since Diwali.
02/11/11 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: Air India Nov 2011