Air India to hire more than 1,000 pilots

An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner takes part in a flying display during the 50th Paris Air Show at the Le Bourget airport near Paris. Credit: Reuters File Photo

Air India will hire more than 1,000 pilots, including captains and trainers, as the Tata Group-owned airline expands its fleet and network.

The airline, which currently has more than 1,800 pilots, has placed orders for 470 aircraft with Boeing and Airbus, including for wide-body planes.

The latest Airbus firm order comprises 210 A320/321 Neo/XLR and 40 A350-900/1000. The Boeing firm order comprises 190 737-Max, 20 787s and 10 777s.

The carrier, which was taken over by the Tata Group in January last year, is hiring more than 1,000 pilots, according to an advertisement on Thursday.

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"We are offering multiple opportunities and accelerated growth across our A320, B777, B787 and B737 fleet for captains and first officers, as well as trainers," it said, adding that more than 500 aircraft are joining its fleet.

Meanwhile, pilots of Air India have raised concerns about the airline's latest decision to revamp their salary structure and service conditions.

On April 17, Air India rolled out a revamped compensation structure for its pilots and cabin crew, which has since been rejected by the two pilot unions - Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) and Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) - on grounds that the airline, in alleged violation of labour practices, did not consult them before finalising the new contracts.

Tata Group has four airlines -- Air India, Air India Express, AIX Connect and Vistara, which is a joint venture with Singapore Airlines. The group is in the process of merging Air India Express and AIX Connect as well as Vistara with Air India.