Etihad Lure Away Air India Pilots

Monday, 6th January 2014 at 13:31pm

Now, Air India is facing another battle - to keep its topnotch pilots from getting poached by its rivals. But that's what exactly Air India is coping right now as the tandem of Jet Airways and Etihad are reportedly setting their sights on the flag carrier's seasoned pilots.

The rumor was that the two airlines, who have just formalized their union recently, are scouting for veteran pilots who can fly their jumbo jets, specifically their fleet of B777, and offer them up to 100% of what they currently receive from the financially-struggling carrier.

India's Union Cabinet approved the 24% stake purchase, worth Rs2,058 crore, by Abu Dhabi-based and UAE flag carrier, Etihad Airways, in Jet Airways last October 2013.

It was reported that 140 pilots from Air India received invitations from Dr. Samar B. Srivastava, Jet Airways vice-president and US-based agency AeroPersonnel Global on November 27 and 28 last year to attend a roadshow in Jet Airways' office in Mumbai.

Air India recently sold last year five of its B777-200 jets to Etihad Airways, as approved by India's Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Needless to say, if Jet and Etihad successfully lured these pilots to fly with them, they (pilots) will end up steering the same planes but will earn much higher, for a different airline company.

Jet and Etihad are serious about their pilot hunting as both are going to expand their network and upgrade some of its planes in selected routes using the wide-body B777 jets.

To sweeten its deal with the pilots, they promised higher salaries than what they currently receive from the state-controlled airline. As if to make it more irresistible to the pilots, the tandem also offers to reimburse all training expenses Air India spent for them as well as hotel accommodations wherever they will be based later.

Air India officials, however, are not perturbed by the aggressive poaching of Jet and Etihad Airways of their pilots. They maintain that only a small fraction of their original pilots are leaving for a better opportunity elsewhere, especially in the oil-rich Gulf countries where state-controlled airlines are heavily subsidized by the government.

It's not surprising that the three biggest Gulf-based airlines, Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, are recipients of the pilot migration from India.

The officials from Jet and Etihad, however, made it clear that they are not considering the pilots who were sacked by Air India and those who have pending cases with the flag carrier.

The pirated pilots will be primarily flying Etihad planes as the flag carrier is upgrading some of its long-haul flights across the Atlantic from its base in Abu Dhabi.

Its trans-Atlantic routes include Sao Paolo (Brazil), Chicago, New York, Washington DC (USA) and Toronto (Canada).

By: .

Cheap Flight Search

Depart From:
Arrive At:
Departure Date:
Return Date:
Currency:
Passengers:

Sign up for the India Flights updates!

For all the latest news on India flights 'like' us now:

Skypicker banner