Air India Officials Meet with Pilot and Ground Engineer Union Members for Reconciliation

Air India's newly merged entity is on the path to reconciliation as top civil aviation ministry officials, led by Joint Secretary Prashant Sukul, met with pilot and ground engineer union members to discuss pending issues. Focusing on better aircraft utilization and usage, the meeting aimed to address concerns from the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) and the Air India Engineers Association. The average aircraft utilization on domestic sectors, currently at 9 hours, is a point of contention, with the government and pilot unions exploring ways to increase it to at least 12 hours.

Key Takeaways:

Joint Secretary Prashant Sukul met with representatives from the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) and the Air India Engineers Association to discuss pending issues.
The ICPA represents over 800 pilots from the erstwhile Indian Airlines, who went on a 10-day flash strike last month.
The primary focus of the meeting was on better aircraft utilization, aiming to increase the average usage from 9 hours to 12 hours initially, and further gradually.
Pilot union members are willing to shift to other aircraft after undergoing training and receiving type certification for B-737, B-777, and B-787 series aircraft.
Currently, Air India has around 100 sets of pilots who remain unutilized due to reduced aircraft utilization of the A-320 fleet from Indian Airlines.
Average aircraft utilization on the domestic sector for Air India is around 9 hours, significantly lower than the global average of 13 hours.
Some airlines, like Air Asia and Air Arabia, maintain aircraft utilization of around 19 hours a day.

Statistics:

Over 800 pilots from the erstwhile Indian Airlines are represented by the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA).
The average aircraft utilization on the domestic sector for Air India is around 9 hours.
The global average aircraft utilization is around 13 hours.
Air India has around 100 sets of pilots who remain unutilized.
Some airlines maintain aircraft utilization of around 19 hours a day.

Sources:

ICPA president Captain Rishab Kapur's statement to the media about the meeting with Sukul.
Government sources acknowledging efforts to increase aircraft utilization in the domestic sector.