The chief executives officers (CEOs) of Air India and Akasa Air have privately exchanged barbs over the poaching of pilots, as reported by news agency Reuters. According to the report, the CEO of Akasa Air accused its bigger rival Air India of violations of rule, which provoked a reply by the Air India CEO.
The exchange between Air India’s Campbell Wilson and Akasa Air’s Vinay Dube, which took place on September 21 as seen by Reuters, spotlights growing competition in India's aviation market, as a strong rebound in air travel after the pandemic, coupled with a flurry of orders for new aircraft, lead to a shortage of pilots. Reuters mentioned that the rare verbal and written confrontations between the two CEOS were detailed in the letter.
As per the report, it followed a telephone call between them and a missive Dube had sent expressing his concerns to Tata Group.
The September 21 letter shows Air India pushed back after Akasa accused it of contravening government policies that mandate a notice period of six to 12 months for pilots, rules that Indian pilots' groups are challenging in court.
Wilson told his counterpart the government rules were "not currently enforceable", adding that Akasa itself had "previously engaged in the same actions" by poaching pilots from Tata Group's budget carrier, Air India Express, and other airlines. "It was a little surprising to us that Akasa now found the practice objectionable," Wilson wrote in the letter.
Akasa did not comment on its communication with Air India, but said the issue of pilot exits was "now behind us ... we are squarely back in growth mode". The dispute comes at the time of a hiring spree by Air India, with its arm, Air India Express, seeking to more than triple its fleet to 170 over five years.
In recent weeks, Akasa has lost about a tenth of its 450 pilots, who left without serving out notice periods, some to join Air India Express. In September, Akasa said it feared a shutdown and sued some pilots, as well as the aviation watchdog, for not coming to its aid, in lawsuits still pending in the courts.
In his letter, Wilson added that he had "cautioned" Dube during their telephone call that asking a competitor to collude in curbing employees' rights to switch employers "could be construed as potentially a contravention of competition law". "I regret that you interpreted my courtesy of taking your call and listening to your request as assent," he added.
The Federation of Indian Pilots has described the alleged mass resignations from Akasa as an "indication" of employee discontent, while the aviation watchdog DGCA has said it cannot interfere in matters related to employment contracts.