NEW DELHI: Loss-making airline SpiceJet has sent nearly 80 pilots on leave without pay for three months. The Gurugram-based carrier, which has been making losses for the past four years, is actively scouting for funds to stay afloat.
Currently, SpiceJet is operating not more than 50 per cent of its capacity, following a July 27 order of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that restricted its departure limit by half approved under the summer schedule after a spate of mid-air technical glitches.
This means the airline has more pilots than it requires and given its shaky financials, the airline is left with fewer options to cut its employee expenses. “The measure, in line with SpiceJet’s policy of not retrenching any employee, which the airline steadfastly followed even during the peak of the Covid pandemic, will help rationalise the pilot strength vis-a-vis the aircraft fleet,” said SpiceJet in a statement.
A senior pilot with SpiceJet said that many of his colleagues, including him, are trying to get into Air India, now run by Tata Group, owing to better future prospects. “Even if not Air India, many of us would settle for Akasa or IndiGo. It is very difficult to manage our expenses and our lives with this sort of uncertainty,” he said on the condition of anonymity.
SpiceJet had in 2019 inducted more than 30 aircraft following the grounding of the 737 MAX aircraft. At present, SpiceJet has 90-odd planes in its fleet. The airline had continued with its planned pilot induction programme in the hope that the MAX would be back in service soon. However, the prolonged grounding of the MAX fleet resulted in a large number of excess pilots at SpiceJet.
“We will be inducting MAX aircraft shortly and these pilots will be back in service as the induction begins. During the LWP period, pilots will remain eligible for all other employee benefits,” SpiceJet said.
Even after placing certain pilots on leave without pay, SpiceJet said it will have a sufficient number of pilots to operate its full schedule as and when the DGCA restriction on flights is lifted.
The summer schedule is effective from March 27 to October 29. The last few years have been very uncertain for pilots and aviation industry employees. After the closure of Jet Airways in 2019 stranded thousands of its employees, the covid-19 pandemic led to severe pay cuts and prolonged leaves without pay.