The Tata Group currently owns 51% of Vistara, with the remaining 49% owned by Singapore Airlines.
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Indian airline Vistara has cut flights after cancellations and delays throughout the week as pilots go on strike over pay adjustments.
Pilots reportedly called in sick to protest against the terms of a new contract that will come into effect following the airline’s impending merger with Air India, causing the airline to cancel 150 flights, while as many as 200 flights have been delayed since Sunday. local media reports.
Tata Group announced that it holds a 51% stake in Vistara, with the remaining 49% held by Singapore Airlines Merger with Air India. Singapore Airlines will hold a 21.5% stake in Air India.
A pilot who has worked for Vistara for more than five years told CNBC that under the new salary structure, pilots will receive a fixed salary for at least 40 hours of flying time, compared with the previous minimum of 70 hours. He said pilots used to “get the same amount of money” whether they flew 10 hours or 70 hours in advance – even though the minimum flight time was 70 hours.
He said the new structure would cut wages from about $7,400 for 70 hours, but not always enforced, to $5,200 for a strictly 40-hour work.
Another pilot told CNBC that there are more than 200 pilots who have not yet signed the new contract, but whose salaries have been reduced under the new contract.
Pilots had just 15 days to sign new contracts and Vistara’s management sent a “threatening” email to the dissidents saying they might miss out on a one-time payment of $4,000 to $5,000 and were deemed There is no interest in joining Air India after the merger is completed, the first source said.
CNBC has reached out to Vistara for response.
“We did not expect this to happen. This is not something you hear from any other Tata company in India,” the source said.
Poor list planning
Addressing pilots on Wednesday, Vistara’s chief executive said flight cancellations and delays were not only due to pilots reporting illness, but also because planes were grounded and pilots reached their maximum duty hours.
He assured them that the issue would be resolved in the coming days and apologized for the poor schedule and overwork, local media explain.
“Working at Vistara is completely different from working at Singapore Airlines. It’s a shame because Singapore Airlines owns nearly 50% of Vistara,” the pilot said.
“Scheduling practices are very, very bad. They can change your schedule whatever they want. Unless you’re on paid leave, there’s nothing like that in a pilot’s life,” he said. “This is unlike Singapore Airlines, which has always had unions and open dialogue.”
CNBC did not receive a response from Vistara regarding the scheduling process.
The Commercial Pilots Association of India and the Indian Pilots Association said in a statement to CNBC on Thursday that the concerns highlighted by Vistara pilots “are not isolated incidents but are indicative of systemic issues across Tata Group aviation entities.”
Last month, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation fined Air India $95,658 for violating flight duty time limits. Reuters reports.
aviation boom
India’s aviation industry is growing by leaps and bounds, and the world’s most populous country will become the world’s most populous country By 2030, China will become the fourth largest travel spender in the world, mainly due to a growing middle-income population and a significant increase in household income.
According to a report by Booking.com and McKinsey, Indian tourists are expected to take 5 billion leisure trips by 2030, 99% of which will be within India.
“Personnel and operational changes are common whenever two companies decide to merge…but we do not expect meaningful spillovers from the ongoing events, although there will certainly be disruption in the short term,” said Malcolm said Dolson, head of emerging markets strategy at investment firm Global X.
Airlines need to ensure they have enough pilots to meet high demand, he added.
—CNBC’s Naman Tandon contributed to this article.
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