Rossiya Airlines plans to furlough 100 Airbus pilots
The Russian carrier is looking to pick parts from multiple aircraft, leading to the lay-off of up to 100 Airbus pilots.
The trade union representing many pilots at Russian Airline Rossiya has advised that a decision was made to place 100 of its airline pilots on furlough. This comes as the airline continues to work through tough sanctions set on Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.
Rossiya has advised that its decision to place 100 pilots on leave was not made lightly. It was due to the airline deciding to park multiple aircraft that were not used to be harvested for parts. For security purposes, and with sanctions in place for Russian carriers, the airline can no longer rely on imported parts. The Saint Petersburg-based airline currently has 26 Airbus A320 and Airbus A319 aircraft in its fleet, and according to Flightradar24.com, at least four of Rossiya’s Airbus aircraft have not left the tarmac recently.
Sanctions causing a logistical nightmare
With tough sanctions placed on Russia, multiple Russian carriers must look within their borders for parts, as Airbus, Embraer, and Boeing have stopped supplying parts to Russian operators. This has raised various issues and concerns regarding the safety of Russian aircraft as airlines resort to picking parts from their fleet. This cannabilism will eventually lead to the demise of airline fleets as more aircraft are picked for parts.
According to Business Daily, the airline advised that the layoffs were necessary to ensure that mass retrenchment was avoided, given these ’emergency circumstances’ the airline is in. Flight attendants at this stage will not be affected by the layoffs. However, pilots will be laid off on a rotating schedule for several days per month. This period is set to last between January 1st, to March 31st. Kommersant reported on the entitlements laid-off workers can expect:
“According to an airline source, ⅓ of the pilot staff of A319/320 will monthly be laid off temporarily and paid ⅔ of their salary. Other sources mention a weekly layoff for one-third of the pilots”
History of Rossiya Airlines
Rossiya, founded in May 1934 as Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise, is one of the oldest and largest carriers in the Russian Federation. Now part of Aeroflot Group, the airline has retained its stronghold as the largest carrier at Saint Petersburg Pulkovo International Airport (LED). The airline participates in Aeroflot Bonus, its frequent flyer program.
In December 2015, the Aeroflot group announced the merger of Donavia, based at Rostov-on-Don Airport (RVI), and Orenair, with bases at Orenburg Tsentralny Airport (REN) and Moscow Domodedovo Airport (DME), into the Rossiya brand, which at the time was the largest of the three airlines. After the merger, Rossiya then operated at 48 domestic and 42 international destinations.
With sanctions in place for Russian airlines following its invasion of Ukraine, Rossiya has attempted to refocus its operations internally and has taken over all Sukhoi Superjet 100 operations from its parent company Aeroflot. simpleflying.com