Vistara staff to get clarity about roles in merged entity by next month, says CEO

Many Vistara pilots are dissatisfied with the reduced fixed compensation. File pic/AP

Employess of Vistara will get clarity on their work roles in the integrated entity comprising their airline and Air India by May and June, according to a letter by Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan. The Tata Group is merging Vistara into Air India, which they acquired two years ago as part of restructuring their aviation business.

"The leadership and relevant cross-functional teams have now started meeting more frequently to come up with the organogram for the merged entity and the process is almost complete for most verticals and we intend to complete this process by the end of this month," read the letter, addressed to Vistara employees, which was reviewed by mid-day.

A Vistara staffer said, "The merger process has been marred by unhappy pilots, primarily first officers, not cooperating with the management as they feel that the new salary structure will impact them. This, along with tight availability of crew, led the airline to cancel over 100 flights, a 10 per cent reduction in the number of flights for April. The airline operates around 350 flights daily. Similarly, the airline has seen multiple senior management officials quitting due to non-clarity over their roles in the merged entity."

"Kannan said in his interactions with us that he found out that there is anxiety, stress and apprehension about the process, but he assured that all Vistara staff will have a relevant and suitable role in the merged organisation," the staffer added.

A pilot said, "This week, the airline is also organising a town hall with its pilots to give clarity about their hierarchical standing. We [Vistara pilots] are also anxious that we may have to sacrifice our order in the seniority list due to the merger. Seniority determines multiple aspects like career progression and choice of base for a pilot. Similarly, the airline will also meet with its cabin crew who the CEO said are anxious to know if there will be changes to their contract after the merger."

On Friday, Kannan in a media statement asserted that due to the planned cancellation of 25-30 flights per day, the airline had stabilised its operations, and its on-time performance had improved to 89 per cent on April 9 from 50 per cent on April 1.