Low-cost airline SpiceJet has reportedly asked around 80 pilots to go on leave without pay as the airline finds itself with excess pilots.
Around 40 pilots from the Boeing 737 fleet and another 40 from the Q400 fleet – which the airline operates on regional routes – will be sent on leave without pay for three months, business daily ET reported, citing sources.
These pilots will be called back gradually as the airline deploys new aircraft into its fleet. It has plans to add seven new Boeing 737 Max starting from December.
The airline is also mulling the option to wet lease aircraft till the time the new aircraft come in. However, wet-leased aircraft will not require additional pilots as they are operated by the crew of the lessor airline, the report said.
“At the beginning of 2021, the airline had around 95 aircraft. But the fleet is now down to 50 aircraft as the airline has returned many planes back to lessor, while some are down due to lack of spares and maintenance issue. So it makes no sense to have excess pilot and build up cost for the company. The pilots will be called back as and when new aircraft join,” reported ET, citing a person aware of the development.
SpiceJet is returning older 737 aircraft which it inducted from Jet Airways while lessors have repossesed around four aircraft. Around 10 of its Q400 aircraft are grounded due to lack of spares, according to the report.
According to the source, rationalising the cost by way of leave without pay will also allow the airline to increase salary of existing pilots. SpiceJet is facing stiff competition from foreign airlines and domestic airlines like Akasa Air, which are on an aggressive expansion drive.
The newly laucnched Akasa Air has recently hiked salary of pilots by an average of 60 percent as it prepares to deploy 13 more aircraft in next five months. SpiceJet had cut salary of pilots and currently a majority of them are getting their salary almost 15 days late.
