Alliance Air cabin crew face financial strain

13 July, 2007:

The merger of Air India and Indian has attracted a lot of media attention. However, Alliance Air, the Indian Airlines subsidiary, has been seeing depleting services creating severe financial strain for its 179-cabin crew. The cabin crew constitutes 25 per cent of its 700-strong work-force. Reports said that the Alliance Air personnel are worried as the carrier has been fast withdrawing aircraft from passenger operations.

The worst hit is Mumbai region. The senior cabin crew operating out of the commercial capital are clocking only 22 hours of flying a month as compared to 90 hours earlier, said a report. It added that flying allowances provided to crew have also dropped drastically.

Alliance Air, which flies on the smaller town circuit, is expected to be merged with budget airline Air-India Express. This might happen soon after the impending merger of Indian and Air India. Alliance Air boasts of a fleet size bigger than emerging budget airlines like SpiceJet and IndiGo. I is also expected to take on lease six Canadian Regional Jets and five ATR aircraft to replace its ageing Boeings.

As many as 11 Boeing 737-200s, which constitute Alliance Air’s fleet of 15, would be out of passenger operations in four months it said. One aircraft has already been converted into a freighter and four more scheduled in the next few months. The rest would be phased out.