New Delhi: Vistara is taking steps to address its ongoing crisis by considering the deployment of first officers from Air India, according to the sources. However, the resolution may not be immediate, as these officers must undergo approximately 40 days of compulsory training before they can operate Vistara planes in accordance with the regulations set by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. This training involves 21 days of ground training with simulator sessions and line training.
Although both Vistara and Air India belong to the Tata Group, any exchange of pilots requires formal training procedures to be followed. Additionally, Air India is currently grappling with a shortage of first officers, resulting in many operations being conducted with One-Way Command, where two pilots manage cockpit duties due to the lack of co-pilots.
Even if Vistara opts to recruit pilots experienced in flying Airbus A320 from other airlines, their training process would still take a minimum of two months. To alleviate the strain on its pilots, Vistara announced a reduction of 25-30 flights per day to improve operational efficiency. This decision, the airline emphasized, aims to restore its on-time performance following recent cancellations and delays.
Pilots at Vistara, amid its merger process with Air India, have expressed dissatisfaction with the revised contracts, which reduce the fixed pay component while increasing flying-related incentives. In response to the situation, a spokesperson for Vistara stated, “We are carefully scaling back our operations by around 25-30 flights per day, i.e., roughly 10% of the capacity we were operating. This will take us back to the same level of flight operations as at the end of February 2024 and provide the much-needed resilience and buffer in the rosters.”
