Vistara crisis: From roster revision to slashing daily operations, airline CEO unveils plan to address pilot shortage
₹80,000 and ₹1,40,000. Vistara's sticky wage problem holds lessons for the Tata Group However, Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan claimed that the pilot shortage triggered as they reached their flight duty time limit. Kannan said the management will revise the roster to take pressure off the pilots from May onwards.
In a virtual meeting on Wednesday, the CEO assuaged pilots’ worries by telling them there will be opportunities to earn more after merger with Air India. Vistara blames rostering for flight disruptions, warns of curtailed ops till May At present Vistara is typically operating 300 flights a day but the Tata's airline is likely to scale back its network to resolve the dearth of pilots. Besides, Vistara has deployed larger aircraft, such as 787 Dreamliner and A321neo, on some domestic routes to combine flights to tide over the crisis.
The latest tussle between Vistara pilots and the airlines spotlights the multiple challenges Tata Group will have to resolve before the merger with Air India by the end of 2024. The salt-to-cars conglomerate bought the cash-strapped Air India from the government in 2022 to bolster its aviation empire. Later, the conglomerate decided to merge Vistara with Air India.
Vistara's struggles reflect Tata's missteps in airline mergers Vistara has a fleet of 67 aircraft, mainly from the A320 family, as well as six 787 Dreamliner jets. Air India Chief Executive Campbell Wilson had once admitted that the proposed merger was fraught with complexities. Vistara pilots have expressed concerns about insufficient scheduling infrastructure and limited cockpit crew members.
The pilots said this has impacted work-life balance. Globally, airlines schedule pilots for 70-80 hours a month. Now, Tata Sons needs to
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