Exodus from Korean Air
According to Korean Airlines on September 6, this year, a total of 30 pilots left the airliner until June. For one year since the beginning of the second half of last year, ten pilots tendered their resignations a month on average. Airline industry experts say that they believe that more pilots than last year vacated their piloting jobs amid the acceleration of pilots’ breakaways from the airliner in the second half of this year.
In 2013 and 2014, 21 and 16 pilots left Korean Airlines, respectively. Since last year, such an exodus phenomenon has been strengthened. Last year alone, 121 pilots handed in their notices. Among them, 46 moved to Chinese airliners while the remaining 75 switched to their new jobs at Korean budget carriers.
Chinese airlines which offer higher salaries can be blamed for pilots’ separation from Korean Airlines. But there is another reason why 62% of pilots who quit Korean Airlines chose other Korean airliners as their new workplaces. “It is said that upwards of 100 pilots tired of having wage negotiations applied for a vice captain job at Air Seoul,” said a source close to Korean Airlines.
“Many Korean Airlines pilots are ready to quit the company if given a chance,” he explained. “Job vacancies are filled with pilots who worked for foreign airliners or Korean budget carriers.”
Saying that Cho Yang-ho, chairman of the Hanjin Group enjoyed an increase of 37% in his total yearly salaries given to him by the group’s affiliates last year, the Korean Airlines Pilot Labor Union had demanded that their company raise their salaries based on the percentage. “Chairman Cho’s total yearly salaries rose 6.2%. Only 1.6% of the percentage came from Korean Airlines,” the management of Korean Airlines refuted in response to the labor union’s claim.
Afterwards, the pilot union acknowledged that the percentage of 37% was miscalculated but has failed to iron out differences in opinions with the management. Moreover, the labor union is planning to hold their third rally this month. Earlier, the labor union held rallies in front of the Korean Air building in Seosomun, Seoul and the Seoul Regional National Tax Service building, calling for a tax probe of the Cho family.