Pilots' strike brings Air India-Indian Airlines divide out in the open

Air India is at war, with itself. There are two systems working side by side in the flag carrier and the current pilots' agitation, if anything, exposes that.
In 2007, the government had merged Air India (AI) and Indian Airlines (IA) to make one of the largest airlines in the world by fleet-size and manpower. Five years down the road, it has come not to be.
Insiders say that though they sit in the same offices and share a common brand name, the split is wide open, as two systems compete to run one airline.
Not just pilots and the cabin crew, even managers and junior staff from both sides fight over allowances, pay scales and even holidays.
On the surface, it looked like an issue with the pilots. But when contacted by IANS, even the cabin crew-in-charges, cargo managers and other functionaries voiced the same resentment over the merger.
16/05/12 IANS/Business Today

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Categories: Air India May 2012