Do you remember the time, about 8 months back, when the maharajas of the non-performing state behemoth - Air India - went on strike? Around 484 pilots of the Air India went on a flash strike, refused to reason, defied the government, even in contempt of court, for 58 full days.
Even worse than the contempt of court (from a public perspective) was the disservice and discomfort dished out to the fare paying passengers, who must have rued the day they trusted Air India.
What was the reason for the pilot’s tantrum? The one and the only reason was the pilots who flew the international routes did not want their colleagues from the former Indian Airlines, which was merged with Air India, to be trained to fly Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
The Air India pilots were afraid of giving up their ‘plush’ and ‘cushy’ jobs of flying international routes to Indian Airlines pilots. Though both the state owned airlines were merged - a profit making Indian Airlines absorbed into perennially loss making Air India - the former Air India guys wanted their cadre or caste to remain pure and uncontaminated.
I dare to term it as caste because in any professional organisation or order, only merit and skills should rule the roost. If such an order or grouping starts to segregate or isolate on opinions, ideas or points based on any other factor - in this case a former trade organisation - such a grouping degenerates into a caste formation and ceases to be a professional, merit and skill based setup.
To be fair, we the public, still don’t know the actual criteria laid down for selection of future Boeing 787 Dreamliner pilots. If such a criteria itself was based on assumption other than skill and merit, then it should also be condemned.
But from what was spoken on the media and courts during the 58 day strike, it was broadly understood that Air India pilots were not willing to cede places in Boeing 787 Dreamliner training to Indian Airlines pilots, even if the latter had superior skills, merit and their age profile would have made more sense for the training.
Be that it may, a compromise was reached in an opaque manner and Air India got its Dreamliner and pilots. Till the grounding that is.
By the end of January 2013, Air India has invited tenders to sell the 7 (six?) Boeing 787 Dreamliners and lease them back, saying it is an accepted airline practice, the move would help turn around Air India and free up cash.
While they are at it, why don’t do themselves and the tax payer a service by letting go those pilots trained in Dreamliner and hire them back as contract pilots? For switching workers from regular pay-roll to contractual ones is also accepted management practice - not only in airlines, but in every sphere of business.
Will the Air India management and the Civil Aviation Ministry have the guts to do it now?
(image courtesy manjul.com)
Even worse than the contempt of court (from a public perspective) was the disservice and discomfort dished out to the fare paying passengers, who must have rued the day they trusted Air India.
What was the reason for the pilot’s tantrum? The one and the only reason was the pilots who flew the international routes did not want their colleagues from the former Indian Airlines, which was merged with Air India, to be trained to fly Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
The Air India pilots were afraid of giving up their ‘plush’ and ‘cushy’ jobs of flying international routes to Indian Airlines pilots. Though both the state owned airlines were merged - a profit making Indian Airlines absorbed into perennially loss making Air India - the former Air India guys wanted their cadre or caste to remain pure and uncontaminated.
I dare to term it as caste because in any professional organisation or order, only merit and skills should rule the roost. If such an order or grouping starts to segregate or isolate on opinions, ideas or points based on any other factor - in this case a former trade organisation - such a grouping degenerates into a caste formation and ceases to be a professional, merit and skill based setup.
To be fair, we the public, still don’t know the actual criteria laid down for selection of future Boeing 787 Dreamliner pilots. If such a criteria itself was based on assumption other than skill and merit, then it should also be condemned.
But from what was spoken on the media and courts during the 58 day strike, it was broadly understood that Air India pilots were not willing to cede places in Boeing 787 Dreamliner training to Indian Airlines pilots, even if the latter had superior skills, merit and their age profile would have made more sense for the training.
Be that it may, a compromise was reached in an opaque manner and Air India got its Dreamliner and pilots. Till the grounding that is.
By the end of January 2013, Air India has invited tenders to sell the 7 (six?) Boeing 787 Dreamliners and lease them back, saying it is an accepted airline practice, the move would help turn around Air India and free up cash.
While they are at it, why don’t do themselves and the tax payer a service by letting go those pilots trained in Dreamliner and hire them back as contract pilots? For switching workers from regular pay-roll to contractual ones is also accepted management practice - not only in airlines, but in every sphere of business.
Will the Air India management and the Civil Aviation Ministry have the guts to do it now?
(image courtesy manjul.com)
I really like examining and also subsequent your current article when i see them really educational and also exciting. This kind of article is usually just as educational together with exciting. Appreciate it intended for details anyone been recently sporting doing your blog this exciting.Airline Pilots
ReplyDelete