NEW DELHI: After facing a shortage of pilots that forced it to cancel flights and amid rising discontent among crew members over working conditions, low cost carrier IndiGo has almost after three years decided to hike the salary of all of its employees from April 1.
The percentage of hike could not be immediately ascertained. IndiGo’s “employee benefit expense” in FY 2017-18 was Rs 2,455 crore. The move comes as airlines are staring at increased operating costs due to crude oil touching $80 to a barrel and rupee again touching 70 to a dollar. These two factors majorly impact operating expenses of Indian carriers. But the pay hike was possibly necessitated to soothe frayed nerves of employees, especially crew members.
In a mail to employees on Thursday, IndiGo said: “..this past year has been challenging for the company. Our profitability in the first few quarters was significantly impacted because of escalating oil prices and a weaker rupee.
