HR outsourcing yet to take off in aviation

New Delhi: Globally, airlines outsource their manpower, other than pilots, and cabin crew to focus on key areas.
HR outsourcing not only helps carriers to cut costs but is also critical for survival of a low-cost model. Though the trend is not visible in India, airlines are firming up plans to outsource their manpower requirements to enhance efficiency and cut costs. But the biggest hurdle they face is the government policy which does not allow airlines to outsource their security, line maintenance and certain other HR functions.
“Globally, airlines outsource around 70-80% of their manpower requirements. Air India outsources cleaning jobs, call centre, home guards and other such on-ground jobs, which account for less than 10% of HR activities…,” says an Air India official.
The airline is considering outsourcing loaders and recruitment activities. Kingfisher Airlines outsources all blue-collar jobs like loaders, drivers etc to vendors like Nova and LiveWell.
It has outsourced its call centre to different agencies in four cities.
For a low-cost model, outsourcing is important. Globally, the low-cost carrier (LCC) model thrives on outsourcing.
“At present, we have over 4,500 (around 50% of total employee strength) outsourced employees all over India,” an Air Deccan official told ET.
For SpiceJet, the HR outsourcing accounts for a minimal 5-7% of its total manpower requirements.
Dearth of quality service providers is also deterring airlines as it’s not just about what is being outsourced but to whom it is being outsourced.
15/08/07 Vishakha Talreja & Dheeraj Tiwari/EconomicTimes