New Delhi: A laudable policy by regional airline Fly91, which offers pilots enormous flexibility in deciding their working hours, is proving to be a hit in improving the well-being of the crew as well as offering considerable family time. Another novel initiative is the move to take care of the elderly parents of crew through a tie-up with an elder care start-up.
The regional airline, headquartered in Goa, debuted in India on March 18, 2024. It made big news recently when it placed an order for 40 ATR 72-600 aircraft valued at nearly one billion dollars. Fly91 presently connects 13 destinations with its six ATR fleet and many more destinations are in the offing when the delivery of aircraft happens.
In an exclusive interaction with the TNIE, Captain Prateek Agarwal, Vice President, Operations, Fly91, said these pro-staff policies were tempting pilots of bigger carriers to move over to them. “The flexible work policy is called as our Retention Policy. Very simply put, night owls would like to work at night while early birds prefer the morning. We allow our 70 pilots to choose their preferred flying hours. This keeps them alert at work as well as gives them some control over their lives.”
The policy started in July 2026 has received an overwhelmingly positive response, he added. “You can hardly see sleep-deprived staff or those battling fatigue in our flying workforce. This plays a crucial role in improving their health and well being.”
A pilot is generally paid for a maximum of 70 hours of flying time per month in our airline. “ We also permit our cockpit crew to choose if they would like to complete it over a month or even in a few weeks if they choose to,” the VP said.
A major stress for the cockpit crew at work relates to their elderly parents back home. This is another aspect which the airline has tackled through its tie-up with the health-tech and eldercare start-up, BeFine Elderly Care. “Staff from the start up call on the parents and check their vital parameters regularly to ensure they are fit. This removes much mental stress when you are far away from your loved ones,” Agarwal added.
The service is presently offered free of cost to our staff and a nominal amount of Rs 500 per month could be charged in future.
These small and crucial steps have played a critical role in stemming the attrition of staff, a recurring problem among airlines.