Air India to get 500+ crew every month, introduce crew rostering system
Air India is set to add more than 500 new flight crew members to the service in each of the coming months, said Air India’s CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson in a letter to employees.
Wilson said the airline is investing in a “pilot program,” expected to be fully operational by early 2024, to enable flight crew to quickly reassign and immediately rebook passengers if the airline experiences disruption. The Business Standard had reported the same in June.
After introducing its “new crew pairing model” last month, the company will also introduce its “Jeppesen-built” roster program in August, resulting in better flight crew management across its fleets.
Queries sent to Indian Airlines on Friday remained unanswered as of press time.
The airline said it activates the software for its flight crew during the rest of the year, and they can experience more regular menus and scheduling and “better integration of golden deals,” which could help flight crew bolster the airline’s operations.
Gold discounts are for a select few days, excluding holidays, which the operating crew can choose to stay off duty on special occasions such as anniversaries and birthdays.
“It is an important investment, but one we feel is worth making to improve equality among the crew, achieve a more stable work-life balance, better conditioning of preferences, as well as better operating power and overall efficiency,” Wilson said in a letter. Reviewed by Business Standard.
“With more than 500 crew members launched into service each of the coming months, we will be able to … accelerate training,” Wilson added.
The Tata Group-owned airline’s on-time performance (OTP) fell to 69.4 percent in June from 82.5 percent in May this year, according to data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation showed that the company’s share of the local market improved marginally to 9.7 percent in June from 9.4 percent in the previous month.