MUMBAI: After Jet Airways, it is Kingfisher Airlines employees who face the heat now as the company has lined up a host of cost-cutting measures, mos
t of which involve drastic salary cuts. Worst affected will be a new batch of trainee co-pilots, who will not only have to return to stipend pay levels, but must also prepare for an uncertain future.(
A cost-modelling study has shown Kingfisher has surplus pilots, but it isn't clear how many exactly. Unlike Jet Airways, Kingfisher’s surplus pilots include senior commanders on wide-bodied A340 aircraft.
"About 70 trainee pilots' monthly salaries stand to come down from Rs 1.95 lakh (newly endorsed ATR/A320 pilots) and Rs 90,000 (trainees on probation) respectively to a stipend of Rs 20,000 per month,’’ said an airline official, who did not wish to be named.
The cost-cutting will not be limited to junior staff. The official said, ‘‘About 14 commanders and 30 first officers who have been trained and endorsed on A340 aircraft will be losing Rs 1.20 lakh each from their monthly salaries as they will be moved down to single-aisle 320 aircraft.”
The official added that the pilots would have drawn more money had they been allowed to continue on the A340 planes. “They would have drawn Rs 60,000 more per month after their endorsement and another Rs 60,000 after completing 500 hours of flying on A340,’’ the official said.
Kingfisher, which was to launch international operations in a big way this year, has drastically trimmed its plans. ‘‘Hundreds of senior pilots trained on A330 and A340 have been on the ground for the last seven months. They are being paid their salaries,’’ said an official.
There has been no official notification of the pay cuts so far but knowledgeable officials say that the final calculations in the cost-cutting exercise will emerge soon.
Although the Kingfisher spokesperson did not comment on the specifics of the cost-cutting exercise, a general statement issued by the airline in this regard late on Friday evening confirmed the salary cuts.
The statement said: ‘‘With a view to tiding over the ongoing turbulence in the aviation industry and keeping in mind the reduction in capacity deployed, Kingfisher Airlines has effected a downward revision in emoluments of a small pool of 50 trainee co-pilots."
"These trainee co-pilots will continue to remain on the payroll of the company and will continue to enjoy and be able to avail full benefits and privileges that are available to employees of the company," the airline said.
It may be recalled that a couple of months ago, Kingfisher Airlines had terminated the services of 300 employees from the non-operations area. ‘‘After the Jet Airways lay-off drama, salary cuts will find acceptance, though only grudgingly,’’ sources said, commenting on the general mood among cockpit crew.
But what is of greater concern, according to airline sources, is talk that the airline is merely buying time to assess its financial burdens before it takes tough decisions regarding surplus staff.
Source : indiatimes.com
