Vietnam Airlines pilot salary revealed

The Government has just issued Decree 64/2023/ND-CP supplementing regulations on piloting labor, salary and bonus management for a number of economic groups and state-owned corporations, including the parent company - Vietnam Airlines Corporation ( Vietnam Airlines ).

Regarding Vietnamese pilots’ salaries, the new decree allows Vietnam Airlines to pay salaries from the unit’s general salary fund. After that, if the Vietnamese pilots’ salaries are still lower than those of foreign pilots in the same position, the airline can supplement the salary fund to pay more to Vietnamese pilots.

Vietnam Airlines will be allowed to set up an additional fund to increase salaries for Vietnamese pilots to approach the level paid to foreign pilots from 2023 (Illustration photo).

The additional salary fund for Vietnamese pilots is determined according to the principle that the maximum additional salary fund is equal to the difference between the salary paid from the general fund for Vietnamese pilots compared to the salary of foreign pilots. The allocation of the additional salary fund is made annually, based on the percentage (%) between the actual salary paid to Vietnamese pilots compared to the salary fund implemented in 2022.

The source of money to establish a supplementary salary fund for Vietnamese pilots is based on Vietnam Airlines' financial capacity, ensuring that the airline completes its planned profit target. If there is a loss, the loss must be reduced compared to the previous year.

The salary supplement for Vietnamese pilots was implemented from January 1. Vietnam Airlines leaders said that the average pilot salary in 2019 was more than 138 million VND/person/month, in 2021 it was 89 million VND/person/month, and in 2022 it was 91 million VND/person/month. Pilot salaries decreased because in 2019 the airline's after-tax profit was more than 2,500 billion VND, and in the following years it continuously suffered losses due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with an average loss of more than 11,500 billion VND/year.

Because the salary of Vietnamese pilots signed a contract with the airline, it is included in the unit's salary fund. This group only receives half the salary of foreign pilots hired from another unit (rental costs are not included in the general salary fund).

From 2020 to now, Vietnam Airlines pays a foreign pilot 2.5 billion VND/year higher than it pays a Vietnamese pilot. Specifically, in 2018 - 2019, Vietnamese pilots received a salary of 124 - 135 million VND/person/month, while foreign pilots received 249 - 281 million VND/person/month; in 2020, this figure was 85 million VND/month compared to 145 million VND/month. Currently, Vietnam Airlines employs 780 Vietnamese pilots and 144 foreign pilots.

Due to low salaries, this airline has been continuously "bleeding" Vietnamese pilots. From 2018 to now, 154 Vietnamese pilots have transferred to other airlines, and in the first 3 months of this year alone, 8 Vietnamese pilots have left the airline. With the speed of developing new aircraft fleets of Vietnamese airlines and unchanged salaries, in the next 3 years, Vietnam Airlines may "lose" another 120-240 Vietnamese pilots/year (mostly main pilots).

According to current regulations, the average salary of Vietnamese pilots at Vietnam Airlines is only 43-48% of the average salary of foreign pilots. To make Vietnamese pilots' salaries equal to 80% of foreign pilots' salaries, this year the airline must add 510 billion VND, if it increases to 90%, the airline will add 713 billion VND. In return, the airline can retain Vietnamese pilots, so it can save the difference in money due to having to use foreign pilots, reducing total costs by 300-600 billion VND/year.

(Source: Tien Phong)

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