Pilots apprehensive of SpiceJet's salary hike announcement

While official figures could not be confirmed, it was estimated that in October 2022, SpiceJet had an operational fleet of about 50 aircraft, including Bombardier Q400 and Boeing planes, with around 750 pilots.

Days after SpiceJet announced a salary hike for its pilots, a section of captains and first officers of the airline has expressed apprehension about the implementation of the revised remuneration citing terms and conditions.

In a communication to pilots on October 19, SpiceJet said effective November 1, 2022, its captains' salaries will increase to ₹7 lakh for 80 hours of monthly flying and ₹6.13 lakh for 70 hours from the current ₹4.5 lakh-level which was made effective from October 1, 2022.

Accordingly, salaries of trainers and senior first officers have also been increased commensurately, the Gurugram-headquartered airline said.

The trainers comprise Designated Examiner (DE), Type Ratings Instructor (TRI) and Line Training Captain (LTC).

However, a section of pilots alleged that the airline has announced a hike in their remunerations while they are yet to get salaries at par with pre-COVID levels, a claim denied by SpiceJet.

On an average, a captain is currently getting around ₹2.50 lakh a month while a first officer takes home about ₹1 lakh every month after basic deductions, multiple pilots said requesting anonymity.

"So basically, we are still getting only half of our actual salaries and I do not know how this new salary structure announcement is going to be implemented," a Spicejet pilot told PTI.