Mon, Nov 10, 2008
Will Hire More Indian Pilots In Cost-Cutting
Initiative
Employing nearly 780 Indian and 260 foreign pilots, Jet Airways
has developed a plan to reduce operational expenses by hiring more
Indian pilots and gradually phasing out foreign pilots. Foreign
pilots working for Jet currently earn almost twice as much as
Indian pilots.
In addition to 32 pilots laid off last week, Jet is considering
terminating 50 more foreign pilots by next month, while hiring 20
more Indian pilots. A senior Jet official confirmed the
cost-cutting moves, saying, "We will gradually replace foreign
pilots with Indian talent," especially on budget-sensitive
non-metro routes, the Economic Times said.
"We are already in talks with Turkish Airlines" for subleasing
four Boeing 777 aircraft with cabin and cockpit crew, the official
said. "If the agreement materializes, these foreign pilots will
continue with the company. Otherwise, they will be phased out."
"Foreign pilots charge a huge salary premium over Indian pilots.
The whole model of ATR demands cost control," an airline industry
analyst said, adding that the proposed replacement of the foreign
pilots makes sense on ATR routes, the money makers for Jet. The
operational costs for the 50- to 74-seat ATRs are 40% lower than
the larger Boeing and Airbus planes in their fleet.
Last month's announcement by Jet of an operational alliance with
Kingfisher Airlines would further reduce operating costs, and could
lead to a 40 percent reduction of capacity, further reducing the
number of needed pilots.
More News
Aero Linx: JAARS Nearly 1.5 billion people, using more than 5,500 languages, do not have a full Bible in their first language. Many of these people live in the most remote parts of>[...]
'Airplane Bounced Twice On The Grass Runway, Resulting In The Nose Wheel Separating From The Airplane...' Analysis: The pilot reported, “upon touchdown, the plane jumped back>[...]
"Burt is best known to the public for his historic designs of SpaceShipOne, Voyager, and GlobalFlyer, but for EAA members and aviation aficionados, his unique concepts began more t>[...]
"Polaris Dawn, the first of the program’s three human spaceflight missions, is targeted to launch to orbit no earlier than summer 2024. During the five-day mission, the crew >[...]
There Are SO Many Ways To Get YOUR Aero-News! It’s been a while since we have reminded everyone about all the ways we offer your daily dose of aviation news on-the-go...so he>[...]