New Delhi: Over a slow lunch last Friday at the press club, the conversation amongst a group of reporters turned to SpiceJet and its recent troubles. A friend, who has covered the aviation sector in the past, made a point which not many people talk about. “So many airlines have been in trouble and they don’t pay their staff on time. Do you actually want your pilots, cabin crew or engineers to worry about their pending salaries while they are on the job?”
Interesting point. An obvious fallout of any airline facing a financial crunch is that the staff does not get paid on time, sometimes for months.
Not for one moment am I doubting the impeccable professionalism of airline employees in India. In all my years of flying within the country, I have seen first-hand their skill and dedication to the job. But consider this: Would you want your pilot to focus on flying or worry about medical bills of a loved one or pending EMI payments for a house? Will it be ok if a member of the cabin crew, who hasn’t been paid for a certain period of time, has a mental breakdown mid-air, to such an extent that it creates risk for travelers? What if an engineer, who maybe can’t focus on the job because she worries about her kid’s pending school fees, misses an important step in the maintenance checks of an aircraft?
23/12/14 Arup Roychoudhury/Business Standard
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Interesting point. An obvious fallout of any airline facing a financial crunch is that the staff does not get paid on time, sometimes for months.
Not for one moment am I doubting the impeccable professionalism of airline employees in India. In all my years of flying within the country, I have seen first-hand their skill and dedication to the job. But consider this: Would you want your pilot to focus on flying or worry about medical bills of a loved one or pending EMI payments for a house? Will it be ok if a member of the cabin crew, who hasn’t been paid for a certain period of time, has a mental breakdown mid-air, to such an extent that it creates risk for travelers? What if an engineer, who maybe can’t focus on the job because she worries about her kid’s pending school fees, misses an important step in the maintenance checks of an aircraft?
23/12/14 Arup Roychoudhury/Business Standard
