Crisis-hit Air India on Thursday stopped bookings for the U.S., Canada and Europe-bound flights till May 15, 2012 as it sacked nine more pilots on the third day of their agitation which led to cancellation of over 20 flights and left hundreds of passengers fuming.
With over 200 pilots owing allegiance to the Indian Pilots Guild refusing to join duty, Air India said it was suspending its international bookings to New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Toronto, London, Paris and Frankfurt. Some other foreign destinations are also likely to be affected.
Air India sacked nine more pilots taking the number of pilots whose services have been terminated to 45. While 10 pilots, mostly office bearers of the IPG, were dismissed on Tuesday, another 26 were shown the door on Wednesday. AI management has also derecognised the union.
Showing no signs of relenting, the IPG asserted that the AI management must withdraw the sack orders and till then there was no question of resuming work.
The agitating pilots sought the intervention of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to resolve the impasse.
“It is a matter of life and death and career for the pilots. Talks were held by IPG with AI management which did not honour its commitments. The management is having a non-serious attitude towards our grievances,’” Jitendra Awhad, IPG president, told reporters.
Over 20 Air India flights were cancelled on Thursday from Delhi and Mumbai. From Delhi flights to Frankfurt, Shanghai, Toronto, New Jersey, Chicago and Seoul were cancelled while Air India flights to New York, Riyadh and Shanghai were not operating from Mumbai.
Air India daily operates about 50 international flights and 400 domestic flights.
Keywords: Air India pilots strike, flights cancelled
Hi all, Air India is the worst airlines in the world. I have been working in abroad Since 1990, I never flied with Air India. Even small countries airlines operated their service well. Really it's spoil our country's reputation. also giving hard time to their passengers. Air India's pilot are not care about passengers problem. It is very very bad thing they have done. Air india's pilot also having their own reputation they must try to keep that.
The best way to optimize such unfair striking techniques should be to invalidate, those pilots'licenses so that they could not join other airlines either ! Will they do it? No way for such spine-less bureaucrates !
The pilots have been using to their advantage the weak stance of the
government in general. In crude words they are adding to the already
troubled AI's trouble, causing trouble to passengers.
The Govt. should not be soft now. Hope it acts tough this time.
'ESMA Should be declared'
I justify their demands. Six month salary is delayed. Everything is
right. No disputes.
Let us see some facts. The government had recently announced a $6bn
bailout package to the ailing state run airline. The airline owes
about $500m to oil companies, $240m to airports, and nearly $1bn in
compensation to Boeing as payment for a delayed delivery of its 787
Dreamliner jets.
Pilots, Stewards, Engineers, Ground support staff etc will get salary
only if an airline exist. The condition is so worse that we once
feared the closure of the airline owing to huge financial crisis. Now
the Pilots went on strike. Will it add to profit or loss?. The Pilots
and other staff is thinking they are one group and the villain is the
Management. This is common in every Indian public sector company. They
never have the feel of oneness. The Management is also wrong. They are
not transparent. Everything is a secret. Do not share problems with
the employees. Let us for now stop this hit on each side and manage
this crisis.
As of today Pilots are adamant that they would not join for work. Debt
is increasing. They are not listening to order of the Honorable High
Court of Delhi. Union Government must declare ESMA. Essential Service
Maintenance Act was enacted in 1968 to help maintain “certain
essential services and the normal life off the community”. The act
bans strikes by key employees in the “essential services”, which
include the railways, post and telegraph, and airport and port
operations. ESMA gives the police the right to arrest, without a
warrant, anyone violating its provisions.
Government must go on 'damage control mode' by declaring ESMA.
Why should government operate airlines? Its stupidity. Any government should facilitate but not operate from end to end. Scrap this airlines. We got enough defame to India/AIR INDIA. I guess no one have common sense prefer this airlines any more. Please shutdown this airlines including the ministry of it also.
It is sad that the PILOTS themselves are bringing loss to the company they are getting the job from. How difficult is it to just show door to these sacked pilots and hire new people. It will be a good lesson to these miscreants and also an image-makeover for AI.
If AI pilots/staff are unhappy with their salary, they must resign & find a job in a private airline. As it is, we are tired of being 'served' by so called over-sized air hostesses!! It's high time we privatize AI & teach these well-paid idiots a good lesson!!
In this competitive cut throat market, It is very unfortunate, AI poor performance . Indians are not interested to travel in this flight because of the poor customer service.Government should come up with the new strategy to make this Org more profitable ,better customer service and good branding.
A kudos to AI management. Fire all the pilots. They deserve any consideration. The forgot that they are living in the cost of tax payers. Tax payers are not only rich people. We are all sale tax, and this is used to pay the huge salary of these pilots. They have no respect to their duty. We are, passengers, ready to suffer.
Not bend the knee. Our full support to the manegement.
One fact remains very understated in the coverage of this issue, i.e. the demands of the pilots, which are double: a. Salaries: circa 6 months of salary are due. Salaries may be good, but are proportionate to the educational costs incurred (some people are still reimbursing their study loans) and close to industry standards. How long can people go and work without pay, that too for a government company? b. Career progression linked to the arrival of 787s this month: it takes 15 days to train a 777 pilot on 787 (Air India). For a 320 pilot (ex-Indian Airlines) it requires 45 days. The costs for the training are significant. However, 320 pilots are being sent on training for 787. Why, in times of economic restructuring, is this simple fact not taken into account by the management, who is therefore needlessly spending significant amounts of money? Simply to suit a few people at the top. And that is one of the main things that is being denounced here: nepotism and needless spending.
This is the most opportune moment to shut the airline down and put the white elephant to pasture. An inefficient organization that has proven to be a financial black hole will be missed by a few but a vast majority of the traveling public and tax payers will not. There is enough room for growth in the private sector to pick up the slack in schedule and many competent AI employees can find employment.
I dont know how can AI plan to expand when it is claiming cash starvation??? This is ridiculous..It is creating a vicious circle that is hitting first the AI staff and most genuinely the passengers who have no role to play in this quagmire! It needs to restructure its existing management arrangement than go in for expansions at this point of time.
AI has now become SICK to the core.Financially as it is it was in the dumps.Government should not relent,because other staff & unions also will demand parity's,promotions,high wages & what not.There is just no end-with 14 militant unions-who are only bothered about themselves & NOT the airline.What use is talking,discussing or negotiating.It is better to shut it, cleanse it,overhaul it & then restart it.It will be much better utilisation of tax payers money,rather than continuing with outdated policies & practices which will again rise.In fact this is the RIGHT TIME to do course correction by shutting it down.
All this is just theatrics. No one is ever sacked, all the pilots will be taken back. It is just a charade the ministry goes through to fool people that they are taking "tough" action. AI should be closed down totally.
I am sorry to note that pilots and Air India top management are subjecting the passengers in much hardship. Even if the fare is more expensive, I would prefer my travel by other airlines hereafter.
first fired pilots should not be taken back whenever settlement of strike occurs.
The government is incapable of handling this crisis. And AI pilots are not supporting the airlines to get out of its basic problem instead they are adding more problem. This is a shame on part of PILOTS. Not attending the duty should be made a criminal offense.
No one can deny the fact from the past experience that pilots of Air India (our national pride) exhibit disastrous propensity to raise their demands from time to time in the most ruthless manner even when they are all well aware about the precarious situation of the Maharaja at this critical juncture and to this are added the negative traits of their lawlessness and insensitivity towards the nation and the passengers whether they are infants or the olds. Signs of miserliness in spite of the fact that they are one of the highest paid employees of this country, their meanness towards the passengers and their pettiness towards other employees of Air India are some of the facts which are beyond the reasoning of any sane person. Their tendency to dictate and tyrannise the authority is now such a notorious mannerism which they develop with the passage of time has now become a prominent feature of their characteristics instead of their doing their prime duty to serve the taxpayers on which account they are getting their salaries etc. In this whole scenario, the management are also equally or perhaps more responsible. What the hell they were doing since the day one of the merger? Investigation should be ordered why they failed to integrate the two separate entities into one profitable company and who were the persons who scuttle this merger process. Now the right time has come for the government to strike at the bull's eye. What they had failed to do in the year 2009, we, the taxpayers, hope that this blunder should not be repeated again. Declare 'lock out' without further loss of time as all the existent past wages and allowances agreements will become null and void. Implement Dharmadhikari Report in toto, shunt out the employees into the two hived out MROs - Engineering and GSD - as agreed in the Cabinet's decision for financial restructuring of Air India - and bring the wages of the employees to the prevalent pay structure in the market.
What the pilots are doing is injustice. The country's reputation is at stake. Isn't 'Aditi devo bhava' our motto while promoting ourselves as a tourist destination. It is sad to see the stranded tourists and other passengers for no mistake of theirs. They may have their own schedule to meet, a doctor's appointment, a marriage function or so. The pilots must return to duty.
In India everyone takes hostages. Maoists, terrorists, and now employees. We should stop being a soft state. Break up Air India back to 2 parts.
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