In a cost-saving step, Air India cabin crew will share hotel rooms during layovers.
Currently, cabin crew of Vistara share hotel rooms on layovers and now the policy is being extended to Air India in view of the impending merger of the two airlines.
Air India’s new policy will come into effect from December 1. Only cabin supervisors and managers will be entitled to a single room during layovers.
Air India said the revised compensation and benefits are competitive and benchmarked to industry standards but the move is causing unease among flight attendants. Currently, Air India has around 8,000 cabin crew.
“Cabin crew will find it very difficult to digest the change. All individuals have different habits, sleeping patterns etc. How is this going to be implemented?,” asked a crew member.
“This has never happened before in the history of Air India...The low cost carrier culture is here to stay,” aviation laywer and author Sanjay Lazar remarked in a social media post.
He added that there are agreements and industrial tribunal awards which specify that airline crew are entitled to single rooms during layovers.
AirAsia India had a policy of room-sharing and it was adopted in Air India Express earlier. However, the nature and scale of operations of Air India and its no-frills brand Air India Express is different.
Air India is the only Indian carrier which operates ultra long haul flights between India and the US/Canada. “It seems management is clueless about fatigue and safety,” aviation safety expert Mohan Ranganathan remarked.
Air India has defended the policy revision.
An airline spokesperson said the policies of Vistara and Air India are being harmonised. Allowances paid on duty layovers on domestic and international flights are being increased. Policy regarding gratuity offered to cabin crew has also been revised.
“Following Air India’s acquisition by Tata group, competitive, contemporary, and performance-linked compensation and benefits policy for all employees were rolled out in April 2023, after a comprehensive benchmarking exercise,” the airline said.
“With the merger of Air India and Vistara formalising, there is a need to harmonise these policies for employees of both the organisations. As part of that exercise, we have communicated the changes applicable to Air India employees. The revised compensation and benefits continue to be competitive and benchmarked to industry standards,” it added.