The story so far: Vistara recently experienced a spate of flight cancellations and delays, a situation that has brought to light several underlying issues within the airline. At the core of the disruptions is a growing discrepancy between the airline’s continued expansion and the actual availability of pilots needed to sustain the added routes. This dilemma coincides with Vistara’s move toward a new pay structure preceding its imminent merger with Air India. A deep-seated dissatisfaction among the pilots concerning this new salary regime surfaced, intensifying the airline’s operational challenges.
From the end of March into early April, over 150 Vistara flights were canceled, and more than 200 were delayed beyond the two-hour mark, causing significant disorder. This escalation was a stark contrast to the “15-20” daily cancellations that commenced in mid-February, shortly after the announcement of a new pay structure for pilots. This change, mirroring a structure already in place at Air India, was not warmly received—especially by junior pilots. According to the disgruntled First Officers, the revised salary formula would slash their minimum guaranteed flying allowance from 70 hours to 40 hours, translating to a substantial pay cut of ₹80,000 to ₹1.4 lakh from a ₹3.4 lakh salary. The unrest was not limited to the junior ranks; senior pilots also expressed concerns over seniority issues within the merged entity and the perceived lack of adherence to a comprehensive seniority list.
In response to the chaos, Vistara publicly announced a “temporary reduction” in flight numbers and the deployment of larger aircraft such as the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and A321neo to accommodate a greater volume of passengers. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stepped in to monitor the situation, demanding daily reports on flight cancellations and delays and directing the airline to ensure that affected customers are appropriately refunded and compensated in line with existing regulations. Vistara’s CEO, Vinod Kannan, announced that voluntary cancellations would likely persist until the end of April. According to industry insiders, around 1,000 flights were canceled between March 31 and April 30 as the airline strove to manage its flight operations more effectively.
Pilot sources and Vistara’s CEO have indicated that one significant reason for the cancellations was a roster crisis, precipitated by an imbalance between the airline’s network expansion and the strength of its pilot cohort. This misalignment led to demanding work hours for pilots and stressful flight patterns. Some pilots reported receiving “10-12” calls on their days off, being solicited for duty, and enduring frequent roster changes with as little as 12-hour notice. Many felt their loyalty to the airline wane as their lifestyle became increasingly unstable, having to spend nights away from their home base, with returns predominantly for weekly offs. Eventually, the dissatisfaction with longstanding roster management issues boiled over, and pilots began to refuse cooperation.
Around the same time, the advent of the new pay structure in mid-February, ahead of the merger with Air India, exacerbated tensions, particularly among First Officers. Informal discussions evolved into plans for collective sick-out protests against the unfavorable conditions. As pilots increasingly turned down calls for impromptu flights, the number of daily cancellations rapidly grew.
Despite these tensions, Vistara’s CEO dismissed the notion of protest leave by the pilots. Instead, he suggested that an accumulation of unutilized sick leaves at the end of the year was partly to blame and could have been better managed. However, during discussions with pilots, he revealed that a significant portion, 270 out of 1,100, had not agreed to the new contract. Subsequently, in an official statement, he claimed that 98% of pilots had accepted the new salary terms.
Adding to the fray were the concerns regarding inadequate training planning, which resulted in delays of up to two years for First Officers to advance to Commanders, causing several to leave for other airlines. Further exacerbating this was the delay in training pilots for Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which necessitated the transfer of 16 Commanders from Air India to Vistara on deputation.
The broader picture reveals Tata Group’s strategic move to consolidate its four airlines into two entities—a low-cost carrier (LCC) resulting from the merge of AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) and Air India Express, and a full-service carrier emerging from the Vistara and Air India amalgamation. The consolidation of the two LCCs is completed, while the full-service carrier merger awaits the blessing of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The full integration is anticipated to conclude by mid-2025.
Although the recent disruptions within Vistara appear not to cause any significant impediment to the merger process, they have underscored potential difficulties in marrying different workplace cultures. At Vistara, pilots have criticized expatriate leaders for a perceived lack of sensitivity to local norms. Similarly, at Air India, long-standing employees have criticized the expansion of the “white man’s club” in leadership and management positions, asserting their unfamiliarity with the Indian regulatory landscape— resulting in punitive actions from the DGCA, including a temporary suspension of Air India’s simulator training facilities.
While some improvements, such as pilot transitions from narrowbody to widebody aircraft, have been positively received, concerns linger. As training quality is said to be declining, the airline continues to grapple with aligning crew availability with its expanding fleet. The situation underscores the complexities involved in aviation as airlines maneuver through operational challenges, pilot grievances, and the struggles intrinsic to corporate mergers.
