Air India vs Indian Airlines: A schism in the sky

The bone of contention between the executive pilots of erstwhile Indian Airlines and the management lies in the peculiar nature of their remuneration, directly related to the number of hours they fly every month, and not a fixed salary as with the pilots of erstwhile Air India or other airlines.

Globally, as well as in India, most airlines pay their pilots a fixed salary. Private airlines in India pay an Executive Commander a salary from Rs 4,15,000 to Rs 4,35,000 per month. However, if the pilot flies more than 70-75 hours a month, he gets an additional payment for each hour flown, aboutr Rs 4,000 an hour.

Erstwhile IA pilots have three components to their pay -- the fixed salary (including a basic salary, house rent and other allowances), a fixed productivity-linked incentive payment (like all other employees in the carrier and not related to productivity) and a variable PLI, dependent on the number of hours the pilot flies.

In the case of a new Commander (of erstwhile IA), the fixed salary (basic plus other allowances) component comes to around Rs 48,000, while his fixed PLI is around Rs 40,000. So, the total fixed salary of a commander is Rs 85,000. However, he makes his real money while piloting a plane, as he gets Rs 4,200 for every hour he flies.

He also gets Rs 750 as an executive allowance per hour of flying. So, the total is Rs 4,950 per hour while on a plane.

Executive pilots say before the recession, on an average, they flew 72-74 hours a month. But, with the slowdown and flights being reduced, this decreased by 10 hours a month. The management's diktat to cut their PLI by 50 per cent would dramatically reduce their incomes.

"We have already taken a cut in our incomes of over Rs 50,000 a month, as we are flying less. If they want us to take a PLI cut of 50 per cent, too, our salaries will become nearly half of what they used to be earlier and that is unacceptable," they say.

Worse, the pilots add, the company has imposed the cut retrospectively and has not paid them their PLI for the past three months. "How can anyone expect us to work when we are taking home salaries of less than Rs 20,000 during the festive season?" a pilot said.

They are willing to compromise on their fixed PLI like everyone else up to 50 per cent. Which, with the fact that they are flying less, would mean a substantial cut.