Some of the crew of the 18 all-women flights operated by Air India Group on Saturday
Air India group says it marked the International Women’s Day on Saturday with a demonstration of its commitment to reinforce the importance of inclusivity at the workplace, upholding the Tata Group’s commitment to diversity and promoting a level playing field for its employees.
In a press statement, the airline says that on March 8, the Air India group took to the skies with flights managed by all-women teams across functions in the air and on ground, while also unveiling a series of initiatives for women employees and special offers for women passengers.
In all, 18 flights operated by Air India and Air India Express on select international and domestic routes, were managed by all-women teams that included pilots, cabin crew, crew roster planning analysts scheduling duties for the all-women crew onboard, flight dispatchers and a meteorologist planning and monitoring flights from departure to arrival, crew controllers tracking all crew ensuring compliance with flight duty time and rest requirements and a female operations control duty manager overseeing Air India’s day of operation.
This is certainly one of the highest number of all-women flights managed by an airline around the world on the occasion of the day to mark the goal of gender parity.
The statement adds that the destinations to which these flights were operated included Melbourne, the longest amongst them, London Heathrow, Dammam, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah, Abu Dhabi, Varanasi, Pune, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Bagdogra, Bhubaneswar, Vijayawada and Guwahati.
Campbell Wilson
“At Air India group, we take pride in the fact that women leading from the front is a norm rather than an exception. India leads the world in the number of women commercial pilots and Air India group is significantly contributing to this achievement. We have been focusing on nurturing a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce and have women representation across key decision-making roles, driving our transformation journey,” says Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Air India and Chairman, Air India Express.
The airline says that at Air India, women make 46 pc of the total workforce, 16 pc of pilots, which is almost three times the global average, 21 pc of staff in ground services, 27 pc in finance and 22 pc in the digital and technology division. According to the statement, Air India is also a signatory to IATA’s ‘25by2025’ initiative that aims at enhancing women at mid and senior levels in the global aviation industry.
Air India Express, Air India’s low-cost carrier, further exemplifies this commitment, with women comprising over 13 pc of its pilots and nearly half of its overall workforce. At an organisational level, Air India has launched an initiative, ‘HerMatters’ to assist its women employees navigate critical life events, both on their professional and personal fronts, for a better work-life balance. The airline organised webinars and panel discussions on topics such as financial independence for women, return to work after maternity and shift from support to sponsorship to nurture women leaders within the airline.
Air India group has also decided to organise sessions on careers in aviation at girls’ schools in the National Capital Region of Delhi to inspire young women to pursue careers in aviation. Under this initiative, Air India employees will visit these schools and share their experiences and growth opportunities in Indian aviation.
In addition, Air India offered special promotions and benefits from March 1-8, which included fare discounts for bookings with at least one woman in the PNR, and 5 pc discount on gift card purchases, enabling and encouraging women to take charge of their travel.
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