NEW DELHI: SpiceJet has offered a 20 per cent salary hike to its pilots, days after it had put nearly 80 pilots on leave without pay.
This latest rise in salaries follows a 6 per cent hike announced last month. This development comes amid reports that the struggling airline received the first tranche of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) payment of around Rs 125 crore last week.
Captain Gurucharan Arora, SVP-Flight Operations at SpiceJet, said in a mail, “Keeping with our commitment of increasing salaries in a calibrated manner as our business improves, the salary for the month of October will see an increase of around 20 per cent for our Captains and Senior First Officers.”
The mail added that the airline has received loan approval under the Centre’s ECLGS scheme, adding the first tranche of this loan has already been received. It also mentioned that the airline is looking to raise an additional USD 200 million.
The loss-making airline had a few days back sent nearly 80 pilots on leave without pay for three months. SpiceJet, which has been making losses for the past four years, is actively scouting for funds to stay afloat.