Kingfisher Cuts Trainee Salary

After dramatic announcements by Jet Airways and Air India earlier in the week, Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines today decided to cut the salaries of 50 trainee co-pilots.

A spokesperson for the airline said the decision was taken as part of a cost-cutting exercise triggered by the “ongoing turbulence in the aviation industry”. He refused to spell out the extent of the cuts.

However, a trainee co-pilot with the airline said they got a stipend of only Rs 20,000 a month. “It makes better sense to take up a call centre job after this pay cut,” he added.

“Many of my friends are scouting around for better options now that the future in the aviation business looks bleak.”

The spokesperson for the airline said the co-pilots would remain on the payroll and enjoy all the other benefits and privileges given to the other employees, including medical benefits and travel privileges.

On Tuesday, Jet stunned the industry by terminating the services of 850 cabin crew — a day after it signed a broad alliance with Kingfisher. Jet followed that up with an announcement that it intended to sack another 1,050 staff. Under pressure from several political parties, Jet rescinded the orders but is now planning to cut salaries.

The Kingfisher cost-cutting plan has not come as a shock to its pilots. Sources said the decision was taken after some of the airline’s 85 planes were grounded. “We knew it was just a matter of time before we would be targeted. Last month, 300 Kingfisher employees lost their jobs but without any fanfare,” said the 23-year-old trainee pilot.

A trainee pilot is fresh out of a flying school and holds a commercial pilot’s licence. He is recruited by the airline to undergo simulator training on the aircraft that he will eventually fly. The trainee has to either pay for the cost of training or sign a five-year bond if the cost is borne by the airline.

Kingfisher is unlikely to cut the salaries of its line pilots and commanders but there could be other cost-cutting measures that would target other categories of employees.

A trainee pilot is promoted to the rank of a junior co-pilot in about a year’s time. Sources said a junior co-pilot earns about Rs 1.25 lakh a month — so many may still be tempted to stick on with the airline in the hope that the ominous clouds will clear.

courtesy : The Telegraph









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