SpiceJet seems to be making an advantage of the situation of Jet Airways trying to catch the employees of Jet Airways.
Spicejet is now hiring engineers and pilots at much lower pay than their current salaries at the financialy-troubled Jet.
Industry sources told IANS that pilots from Jet Airways are being asked to take salary cuts of 25-30 per cent, while engineers have been advised to settle at 50 per cent of their current pay package.”The offer is much lower. It will certainly be a forced choice. We are hoping that some investor would take over Jet and our salaries will remain protected,” said a senior employee.
“They have loans and other financial commitments so they are looking for places where there is certainty of jobs and timely salary payment. Not many senior level pilots have so far left Jet Airways. They are reluctant to go to either SpiceJet, IndiGo or Air India Express as they feel their seniority and salary will be impacted. They do not want to sign 3-5 year bonds,” he said.
The flying veteran noted that many co-pilots who do not have much experience generally get about ₹2.9 lakh salary month at Jet Airways, and they are willing to join other airlines for even less than ₹2 lakh a month.
Among various domestic airlines, only Air India Express and SpiceJet operate Boeing fleets, apart from Jet Airways. Those operating Airbus aircraft fear huge conversion costs for both pilots and engineers and are, thus, reluctant to hire the technical personnel from Jet.
“We will have to train them for flying and maintenance of Airbus aircraft. In case of pilots, it will need six months of training, while for engineers the reskilling would take 3-4 months. This means the salary for entire training period will be a huge cost for us,” said an executive of a private airline operating Airbus planes.
But aviation experts feel that the current situation is temporary and it will normalise once Jet gets back on its feet.
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