The number of Korean Air's pilots, who quit their jobs, posted as many as 42 in July, a steady increase from 26 in 2013 and 27 in 2014, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport.
Although the company rushed to hire 105 pilots this year, the vacancy of pilots will be inevitable if the trend continues, according to industry observers.
The “exodus” of pilots from Korean Air is partially attributed to better-paying Chinese airlines which many retired pilots opt for.
Annual take-home pay for Korean Air's pilots with a 10-year career is said to be around 150 million won, compared to 200 to 300 million won paid by Chinese airlines. There are even some Chinese airlines paying up to 400 million won.
Labor intensity also played a role in the "exodus." Korean Air's pilots work for around 63 hours and 54 minutes per month, the second longest hours following Jeju Air (72 hours) out of the seven local airlines.
Pilots' flight educational expense has also become a controversy. Korean Air's three pilots, who worked under so-called "slave contract" for six years, recently filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming 190 million won in compensation.
When Korean Air hires new pilots, the firm made them pay for their training expenses amounting to 170 million won.
The pilots, who filed a suit, said, "Although the conglomerate is capable of spending on training programs, it made the employees shoulder all the cost," adding that, "Also, if they don't work for the company for 10 years, they should cough up all of their training cost all at once."
Last month, Korean Air was embroiled in the controversy when one of its employee sent an email to 60 military pilots, sarcastically stating that "I heard that some of you want to work for low-cost airlines, hoping to work for Chinese airlines or to become pilots someday. But, low-cost carrier can never be an answer. You should rather go to an airline surnamed A." The airline surnamed A allegedly refers to its rival firm Asiana Airlines.
