The first Boeing-787 Dreamliner aircraft is likely to be arrive in the month of January,according to a statement by the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) before the Bombay High Court on Wednesday. The statement was made by counsel for the IPG Darius Shroff,during the hearing of a dispute between the guild and the post- merger Air India over the allocation of pilots for the aircraft. Air India had ordered 27 Dreamliner aircrafts from Boeing. In the present dispute before the court,the IPG has challenged the decision of the airline to draw an equal number of pilots for the aircraft from the pre- merger Air India and Indian Airlines. The guild claims to represent pilots belonging to the old Air India. The pilots argue that they have more experience for the aircraft than their counterparts from the erstwhile Indian Airlines,and hence should be given preference. Arguing for the IPG,Shroff contended that the airline should prepare a common seniority list for the Dreamliner. In the present circumstances,the training of the pilots from the old Indian Airlines will take a much longer time,and it will also be that much more expensive, he added.
