Air India has resumed all flights and re-opened bookings as more than 200 pilots returned to work after a five-day work stoppage over the airline's management plan to slash incentives and flying allowances.
The pilots' protest resulted in the cancellation of about 250 domestic and overseas flights, long delays and a temporary suspension on bookings.
The carrier, which planned to cut the pilots' perks to stave off losses, had seen its daily revenue of Rs400 million (US$8.39 million) drop by 70 percent to Rs120 million (US$2.52 million) as bookings decreased by more than 50 percent to 14,000 tickets over five days.
Senior Air India pilots started to call in sick last Saturday and did not report to work amidst reports of up to 50 percent cut in their performance-linked bonuses. They withdrew their protest after being assured that any proposed cut on incentives and allowances would not be implemented until a panel studied all aspects of the problem in consultation with employees.
For more details, visit www.airindia.com
Liu Hongzuo
