Go First Offers Pilots Extra Rs 1 Lakh To Monthly Salary In Bid To Retain Them: Report

Go Air said that from June 1 onwards, the 'captains' or the pilots-in-command would be paid their present salary along with a "monthly increment of Rs 1 lakh (retention allowance)"

The above retention allowance will be paid to all captains and first officers who are on the company's payroll as of May 31, 2023, Go Air said.

In a bid to retain pilots, crisis-hit Go First has offered its pilots an additional amount of Rs 1 lakh per month to their existing salary, according to news reports. The airline, which runs into trouble due to financial woes, has temporarily suspend its operations and filed for bankruptcy.

In an internal communication note, the carrier said that from June 1 onwards, the 'captains' or the pilots-in-command would be paid their present salary along with a "monthly increment of Rs 1 lakh (retention allowance)". According to a mail by GoAir, 'First officers' or co-pilots would be paid a monthly retention of allowance of "Rs 50,000", in addition to their present salary, from June 1.

The above retention allowance will be paid to all captains and first officers who are on the company's payroll as of May 31, 2023, it added. The airline has also offered to roll out the allowance for pilots who have recently resigned, but are willing to "withdraw their resignations by June 15".

Go First also noted that it would soon roll out a "longevity bonus" to reward its long-serving staff members.

The email also added that "if things shape up as per the present progress and plan, it won't be long before we will be flying again which will also enable us to be regular on salary payments".

In another email sent to all staff members, on May 24, Captain Rajit Ranjan, Go First's vice-president (Flight Operations), had clarified that the salary for April would be fully paid before the airline resumes its operations. "From the coming month, the salary will be paid in the 1st week of every month," he had stated.

Ranjan suggested to the employees that Go First is on track to resume its operations, as he pointed towards the recent the NCLT order that admitted its insolvency plea despite the objections raised by the aircraft lessors.

Go First Lessors are ruffled by crisis, which started when the carrier decided to file for voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings before the NCLT on May 2. The lessors sought deregistartion and repossession of 45 planes of Go First, which also suspended operations from May 3.

The airline has around 55 aircraft in its fleet and 28 of them are grounded due to non-availability of Pratt & Whitney engines. The grounding of the planes resulted in fund crunch and forced the airline, which has been flying for more than 17 years, to file for insolvency proceedings.