Tata Group’s Air India on May 23 announced a salary hike of up to Rs 15,000 and annual performance bonus of up to Rs 1.8 lakh for pilots from April 1. The company has announced this by issuing an official statement. According to the company statement, the airline has increased salaries from First Officer to Senior Commander by Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000 in fixed pay per month. There has been no salary hike for junior first officers this appraisal season. First Officers and Captains will get ₹60,000 annual bonus. However, Air India has also announced bonuses ranging from ₹42,000 to ₹1.8 lakh per year for junior first officers (JFOs) to senior commanders. First Officer and Captain will get an annual bonus of Rs 60,000. The Commander will get a bonus of ₹1.32 lakh and the Senior Commander will get ₹1.80 lakh, while the Commander will get a bonus of ₹1.32 lakh and the Senior Commander will get a bonus of ₹1.80 lakh. The airline has also announced compensation for pilots who have faced inordinate delays in their ground and simulator training. Air India said, ‘Pilots who had undergone command upgrade and conversion training from April 2023 to March 2024 and whose training was delayed due to justifiable organizational reasons. They will be given additional compensation for time spent in training beyond the guaranteed 40 hours of flying. These pilots will be informed individually and the payout will be made along with the flying allowance of June. Cabin crew salaries are being affected due to low number of departures. A day earlier, Air India Express Union had expressed concern about flight delays and cancellations. On this the union had said that the low number of departures is affecting the salary of the cabin crew. More than 100 cabin crew have been sitting idle without flying duties for two months. Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU) also claimed that 100 cabin crew have been sitting idle without flying duties for the last two months due to non-availability of airport entry passes. More than 100,000 cabin crew are sitting idle without flying duties. The cabin crew strike was called off after a meeting of the union and airline representatives called by the Chief Labor Commissioner (Central) in the national capital on May 9.
