Air India Express Fully Sorts Out the Cabin Crew Concerns

Just a day after the Air India Express Employee Union (AIXEU) criticized the airline for issuing charge sheets to protesting cabin crew members, the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Air India Express said that the airline has fully sorted out the concerns of cabin crew members. At the Aviation India 2024 event, he discussed about the issues of cabin crew members, along with the expansion plans of the airlines.

Air India Express has Resolved Cabin Crew Concerns

Ankur Garg is the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Air India Express. He said that the cabin crew issues are now fully resolved. In early May, Air India Express was forced to cancel more than 150 flights because of a planned mass sick leave by a section of its cabin crew members.

Garg said that when an airline grows its capacity rapidly, there is some amount of pressure on the staff members. He added that a very small section of cabin crew members went on strike. Out of the 45 base stations the airline operates from, disruptions were caused majorly at two of them.

The planned strike coincided with the unorganized transition from ARMS to the CAE crew rostering system. As a result of which, the airline lost the data of its pilots and cabin crew members. Because of this, even when all the protesting crew members returned to duty, the disruptions continued.

Garg said that two problems made the whole matter complicated. Now, the airline operations have been normalized. Operations are expected to remain stabilized from now on.

Fleet of 100 Aircraft by 2024-End

Since the privatization, Air India Express has added a fleet of 22 Boeing 737 MAX jets, which were previously destined for Chinese carriers. It is looking to add another 24 aircraft within the next six months. With this, the entire fleet of AIX Connect and Air India Express will cross 100 aircraft by the end of 2024.

Yesterday, the Chandigarh unit of NCLT granted the merger approval to both AIX Connect and Air India Express. The tribunal has asked both airlines to conclude the merger process within nine months of filing the plea. AIX Connect will be fully dissolved into Air India Express. Following this approval, both airlines can transfer their assets and staff members to each other.

Garg said that the integration of staff members is an easy process. However, when it comes to implementing system changes, expanding aircraft operations, and integrating the Human Resources of both airlines, there will be challenges.

Garg added that Air India Express is adjusting its schedules according to the long-haul international flights of Air India. The LCC subsidiary is adjusting the timings of busy corporate routes to provide seamless connections to Air India’s international flights originating from Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, the three hubs of Air India.

Conclusion

Air India Express CCO has said that the airline has fully resolved the concerns of cabin crew members. This clarification comes just days after it issued charge sheets to those cabin crew members, who participated in the strike. The employee union has said that this action is unethical and will further strain the relationship between the airline and crew members.

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