Vietnamese pilots' salaries are 59% of their foreign colleagues' in the same airline.

The average monthly salary in 2022 of Vietnam Airlines domestic pilots is 85 million VND, equal to 59% compared to foreign pilots of the same airline.

In the draft Decree amending and supplementing Decrees 20 and 87 on piloting labor and salary management for a number of state-owned enterprises that will soon be submitted to the Government , the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs proposes that Vietnam Airlines be allowed to supplement its annual salary source to pay Vietnamese pilots, ensuring that it is equal to 70-90% of the salary of foreign pilots of the same airline.

Vietnam Airlines pilots at Noi Bai airport ( Hanoi ). Photo: Gia Chinh

The proposal comes in the context of Vietnam Airlines "bleeding" pilot resources due to low income and insufficient salary fund to compensate. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs cited a report by Vietnam Airlines saying that in 2022 the airline will have 6,028 employees, with a total salary fund at unit price of nearly 1,700 billion VND. Of which, there are 829 Vietnamese pilots, 152 foreign pilots (the airline signs a human resource supply contract with partners, does not pay salaries directly), 3,581 flight attendants and indirect workers.

The average salary of domestic pilots is 85 million VND per month, only 59% of the salary of foreign pilots (145 million VND). The pilot team accounts for 19% of the workforce paid by Vietnam Airlines, but accounts for nearly 50% of the total salary fund according to unit price. The salary of flight attendants and professional workers is about 19.5 million VND.

In the 2023-2025 period, the airline's domestic pilot team is expected to increase by 865-959 and 1,044 people, respectively, with monthly salaries of VND115.6; VND128 and VND134.8 million per month. The salaries of foreign pilots working for the airline are VND268.4; VND273.7; and VND279.2 million per month, respectively, according to market supply and demand. "Thus, the average salary of Vietnamese pilots in this period is only 43-48% of the salary of foreign colleagues," the draft stated.

The cost of training a basic pilot in 2015 was about 1.9 billion VND. Photo: Anh Tu

According to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, pre-pilot salaries of domestic pilots were much lower than those of their foreign colleagues working at the same airline. The current salary fund is not enough to compensate for the salaries of domestic pilots. Fierce competition has caused many pilots to leave Vietnam Airlines. Since 2020, 35 Vietnamese pilots have quit their jobs, and some are expected to quit after their contracts end.

Lacking human resources, flight operations are affected, the airline may have to hire more foreign pilots. The estimated cost of hiring foreign pilots is 2.5 billion VND per person per year, including salary, rent, insurance, and management fees. Assuming that Vietnam Airlines "bleeds" 120-140 domestic pilots each year, the additional cost to hire foreign pilots to replace them is 300-600 billion VND. Hiring is not easy while there is a potential risk of flight disruption due to a lack of pilot manpower.

Based on the above facts, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs believes that it is necessary to supplement the salary source for Vietnam Airlines to retain high-quality human resources and stabilize flights. According to calculations, the expected annual supplementary source is 300 billion VND so that the salary of domestic pilots is equal to 70% of that of foreign pilots and 800 billion VND if it wants to reach 90%. This supplementary source must be based on the airline's financial capacity, ensuring the completion of the assigned planned profit target, not causing additional losses compared to the previous year in case of loss.

Hong Chieu

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