Air India introduces flexible contract model for pilots to balance work and operations

NEW DELHI: Air India has rolled out a ‘Flexi Contract for Pilots’, a new work model that lets flight crew choose shorter duty patterns while keeping operations running smoothly. The airline says the plan aims to match pilots’ preferences with roster needs and focuses on work-life balance without hurting efficiency.

Under the policy, Line Pilots and Line Training Captains on A320, B777 and A350 fleets are eligible. Junior First Officers, Type Rating Instructors and Direct Entry pilots are not. The contract offers two fixed patterns — for wide-body aircraft, 15 days on and 15 days off; for narrow-body aircraft, 20 days on and 10 days off.

Annual leave aligns with these rosters — eight privilege and four sick leaves for wide-body pilots, and 12 privilege plus six sick leaves for narrow-body colleagues. The contract tenure will be 12 months, which can be extended at the company’s discretion. After the contract ends, pilots return to their original terms.

Air India states that selection is made through an Expression of Interest process, with seniority and operational needs guiding the final list. An exit needs three months’ notice. If a pilot is selected for a fleet or command upgrade, the pilot returns to the original contract from the start of training; if an upgrade is refused, the existing career policy on freezes applies. The company may also revert a pilot to the old contract if required, and this does not change pay terms that applied before switching to flexi terms.

Pay follows a calculator shared with crew, with minimum monthly availability set at 12 days for wide-body and 15 days for narrow-body to receive 40 hours of pay under the new structure. Flying above 40 hours is paid at the same rate as on the original contract. Trainer, wide-body, deadhead and layover allowances stay protected. Car lease and NPS EMIs are adjusted against flexi salary components. On off-days, pilots remain exclusively engaged with the airline and are not permitted to take on outside work.

Leave bidding under the flexi track runs on an ad-hoc system, and previous bids are forfeited. Total bid points during the tenure are 20 for wide-body and 30 for narrow-body. Loss of License coverage continues, including on off-days. Medical insurance remains unchanged. Seniority is protected, and base and merit/demerit processes remain as per the current policy. When pilots revert to the old contract, they join the next regular leave-bidding cycle.

The process runs in two cycles, one beginning in January 2025 and the other in March 2025. Slots are allocated by seniority. According to the plan, commanders have 50 A320 slots at Bengaluru, Delhi and Hyderabad, 30 B777 slots at Mumbai and Bengaluru, and 20 A350 slots at Delhi. First officers have 20 A320 slots at Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad, 70 B777 slots at Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, and A350 slots to be announced for Delhi. (ANI)