Air India to pay pilots by month-end

With resentment growing among its pilots, the Air India management has made arrangements to disburse the pending productivity linked incentives (PLI) by the end of this month.

“The delay used to range between one and two months in the past. Efforts are being made to settle the October PLI by the end of November. In future, PLI payment will not be delayed more than a month,” Jitendra  Bhargava, an Air India spokesperson, said on Tuesday. 

“The company is also putting in place a plan to clear the dues of various vendors, thanks to the improved booking scenario for December, January and February, which are regarded as good months for the airline industry,” he added.

According to recent data released by the directorate of civil aviation, the improved market has enabled Nacil to notch up impressive gains. The airline’s domestic market share, which was 16.6% in August, rose to 17.5% in September, and climbed further to 18.6% in October.

“The airline’s seat factor has also been showing improvement. It has improved from 59.8% in August to 72.8% in October,” Bhargava said.

Moreover, the national carrier is also set to get Rs800 crore in the form of equity infusion. The first instalment of Rs400 crore is expected to reach it by January.