Go First plans Rs 1 lakh pay hike for pilots

Go First which is currently under insolvency proceedings wants to retain its pilots who, on the other hand, are looking to leave. The airline is reportedly offering as much as Rs 1 lakh a month to captains and Rs 50,000 to first officers as it tries to retain them.

The airline is calling this bump a retention allowance and it will come into effect on June 1. Go First sent a mail regarding this to pilots, as seen by Bloomberg. The retention allowance will also be offered to those who have resigned but are willing to take their resignation back by June 15.

A longevity bonus will also be offered to long-serving staff.

According to the report, Go First’s captains earn around Rs 5.30 lakh a month on average, compared to Rs 7.50 lakh at SpiceJet.

The airline said in the mail that if things shape up as per the progress plan, it won’t take long before they fly again, enabling them to be regular on salary payments. 

Shortly after Go First filed its application for insolvency proceedings, rival airlines such as Air India, Vistara and IndiGo had put up advertisements for job vacancies across roles and the country.

Last week, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted a month to Go First to submit its restructuring or revival plan. It has also asked the low-cost carrier to submit the status of the availability of the operational aircraft fleet, post holders required, pilots and other personnel, maintenance arrangements, funding, working capital, arrangements with lessors and vendors, etc., before starting its operations. Before that, the airline had conveyed to DGCA that there is no definite timeline for the resuming of flights.

Meanwhile, the airline announced that its flights remain cancelled till May 30 due to operational reasons. It said that the full refund will be processed to the travellers impacted by their original mode of payment. It added that it will be able to resume bookings shortly.

-B