On Thursday, dozens of pilots, many from the financially troubled Go First airline, gathered at a hotel owned by the Tata group outside of Delhi for walk-in interviews with Air India.
Many employees were shocked to learn that Go First had declared bankruptcy on Tuesday as the demand for post-pandemic air travel in the nation with the largest population boomed.
The airline operated as if everything were normal, said a pilot who joined Go First two years ago and was standing in a huge queue outside Tata’s Taj Hotel. “It is very disheartening; the airline was functioning as if everything was normal,” the pilot added. We must abandon the ship to maintain the validity of our pilot’s licenses.”
Similar hiring drives
The majority of the pilots and cabin crew Reuters spoke with at the Air India program, which was initially disclosed on Wednesday, and another run by sister company Vistara declined to be identified since they were still working for Go initially, the nation’s third-largest airline.
Although similar hiring drives have been held by Air India, Vistara, and the nation’s largest airline IndiGo (INGL.NS), in the past, the people Reuters spoke to said the turnout was higher than usual.
They attributed the figures to Go First, formerly known as Go First Airlines (India) Ltd, which employs about 7,000 people, and its dire financial situation.
Air India Twitter Post
Air India said on Twitter that the hiring drive in Delhi and Mumbai would now take place on Friday instead of Thursday. As part of a significant makeout also includes orders for a record 470 jets, the airline Tata Group purchased back from the government last year expects to add more than 4,200 cabin crew members and 900 pilots this year.
A representative for Air India told Reuters that the company is now examining more than 700 applications that were submitted in response to a pilot job posting last week.
Go First and Vistara, a joint venture between Singapore Airlines and the Tata Group, declined to comment. The CEO of Go First stated this week that the company is dedicated to its personnel and is making unrelenting efforts to restore operations.
As the airline industry recovers, a proposed merger between Air India and Vistara and the establishment of Akasa Air have intensified rivalry for pilots and aircraft. On Thursday, Vistara held walk-in interviews for cabin crew in Delhi and Mumbai and invited pilot applications online.
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