Tiger pilots score 16pc pay rise

Pilots with low cost carrier Tigerair Australia have scored an immediate 16 per cent pay rise.

Tiger’s Captain Troy Petschel on the tarmac at Hobart International Airport in 2018. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Pilots with low cost carrier Tigerair Australia have scored an immediate 16 per cent pay rise, with three further annual increases of 2.5 per cent from December.

The hefty rise, which will be back paid from December 2017, will see a captain’s salary jump from $184,000 to $215,000 a year, and an entry-level first officer go from $101,281 to $118,250 a year.

Over the life of the three-year agreement, captain’s salaries will expand to $231,531 and first officers’ to $127,342.

The Australian Federation of Air Pilots said the Fair Work Commission had approved the new agreement which would help the airline recruit pilots given the more competitive salaries and conditions now on offer.

AFAP senior industrial officer Patrick Larkins said the initial 16 per cent increase had been achieved in part by rolling five hours of overtime into the base rate.

The actual overtime rate would increase by 36 per cent over the three year life of the EA, he said.

“AFAP is pleased to have achieved its goal of ensuring Tigerair Pilots are remunerated to properly reflect the market value of their labour when compared with their counterparts at other airlines,” said Mr Larkins.

“This resolution frees up management to focus on getting Tigerair’s fleet transition to the Boeing 737 from the A320 organised properly and to recruit pilots using the competitive salaries and conditions now on offer.”

The agreement followed two years of negotiations during which pilots took protected industrial action including work bans and a four-hour stoppage in the busy December- January period.

Mr Larkins said the deal provided for certain lifestyle improvements for pilots, by retaining access to fixed rosters — of five days on, three days off — and introducing protections around duty changes, to allow them to better plan their lives.

“AFAP is confident a fair deal has been reached for both Tigerair pilots and the company,” he said.

Of Tigerair’s 190 pilots, 150 are members of AFAP, which represents more than 5000 pilots Australia-wide.

A spokeswoman for Tigerair said the company was pleased to have negotiated a new agreement.