Air India and Akasa Air CEOs exchange barbs over poaching of pilots

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New Delhi: The chief executives of Air India and Akasa Air have privately exchanged barbs over the poaching of pilots, with the latter accusing its bigger rival of rule violations, provoking a reply that collusion to curb job switching can breach competition law. The exchange, detailed in a Sept. 21 letter seen by Reuters, spotlights growing competition in India's aviation market, as a strong rebound in air travel after the pandemic, coupled with a flurry of orders for new aircraft, lead to a shortage of pilots.

The rare verbal and written confrontations between the airlines' chief executives were detailed in the letter, sent by Campbell Wilson of Air India, which is owned by the Tata Group conglomerate, to Vinay Dube of low-cost airline Akasa. It followed a telephone call between them and a missive Dube had sent expressing his concerns to the Tata Group. The Sept.

21 letter shows Air India pushed back after Akasa accused it of contravening government policies that mandate a notice period of six to 12 months for pilots, rules that Indian pilots' groups are challenging in court. Wilson told his counterpart the government rules were "not currently enforceable", adding that Akasa itself had "previously engaged in the same actions" by poaching pilots from Tata Group's budget carrier, Air India Express, and other airlines. "It was a little surprising to us that Akasa now found the practice objectionable," Wilson wrote in the letter, which Reuters is reporting for the first time.

Akasa did not comment on its communication with Air India, but said the issue of pilot exits was "now behind us ... we are squarely back in growth mode". Air India declined to comment and the two chief executives did not respond to requests for