Air India revamps compensation structure for pilots, cabin crew

Air India on Monday said it has revamped the compensation structure for pilots and cabin crew, including increasing the per-hour flying rate for pilots.

Under the new structure, part of the Tata Group-owned airline's five-year transformation plan, salaries will be hiked for more than 2,700 pilots across Air India and AIX Connect (including Air Asia India and Air India Express) as well as for more than 5,600 of Air India's cabin crew, said a source.

"We are pleased to announce a revision in the compensation of flying staff with effect from April 1, 2023. We have redesigned the compensation of flying staff to make our compensation structure simplified," according to an internal circular.

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Following the revision, the guaranteed flying allowance component has been doubled from the current 20 hours to 40 hours. However, it remained much lower compared to the pre-pandemic period when Air India pilots were entitled to a guaranteed 70 hours of flying.

One year CTC of a trainee pilot now stands at Rs 50,000 per month while a senior commander will earn Rs 8.50 lakh per month.

Similarly, the salary of a fresh cabin crew has been pegged at Rs 25,000 per month, whereas the cabin executive will get Rs 78,000 per month, according to the circular.

There will also be additional compensation for pilots undergoing training for command upgrade and conversion training for the time spent in-ground and simulator training, the source said.

Further, Air India has also hiked the pilots' per-hour flying and flying allowance rates.

The source said the airline will introduce an additional reward to recognise the long service of its tenured staff, and double the stipend for trainee pilots.

Among others, the contracts of nearly 800 FTC (Fixed Term Contract) pilots, which were earlier renewed for 5 years, will now be extended until the pilots attain the age of 58 years.

Air India has about 4,700 FTC cabin crew and nearly 1,000 permanent cabin crew.

Air India will also introduce two additional levels/designations -- Junior First Officer and Senior Commander.

A large number of senior pilots, who have flown for four or more years as Commanders, will be promoted to the Senior Commander rank, giving them instant inclusion into the management cadre with extra allowance for executive duties, the source said.

The cabin crew organisation structure for both permanent and FTC cabin crew has been redesignated into four segments -- Trainee Cabin Crew, Cabin Crew, Cabin Senior and Cabin Executive.

As per the source, the trainee stipends for fresher and experienced cabin crew will be hiked by more than 20 per cent.

The airline will also double the domestic layover allowance and the allowance for check crew.

Besides, it has also introduced additional allowances for cabin supervisors and their grooming.

In February, Air India announced plans to hire more than 4,200 cabin crew trainees and 900 pilots this year. The airline has also placed orders for 470 planes with Boeing and Airbus.