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After almost six years, the pilots of the Boeing fleet of Air India have finally agreed to accept the common pay structure as recommended by the Dharmadhikari committee. The Dharmadhikari panel had submitted its report to the government in January 2012, which called for implementing common pay and allowances as per the norms for other public sector enterprises. The agreement reached between Air India and the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) on the issue last month is now awaiting approval from the aviation ministry, an IPG member said today. With this, the merger of the erstwhile Indian Airlines with Air India is almost complete now--a development comes too late for the union as the carrier is divestment-bound now. Confirming the development, a top Air India official told PTI on Wednesday that the "merged seniority" is also being worked out and once that is done, the integration process will be complete. The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), which represents the Airbus fleet pilots at the state-owned carrier, had long ago accepted the recommendations.<br/>

Avianca CE Hernan Rincon has been appointed president of the executive committee at Latin American and Caribbean airline association ALTA. He succeeds LATAM Airlines chief Enrique Cueto, who has led the executive committee since January 2016. ALTA represents over 30 airlines across Latin America and the Caribbean, accounting for almost 90% of passenger traffic in the region. Rincon describes the appointment as "an honour", adding: "Personally, it represents an opportunity to continue working for an aviation industry that focuses more on passengers and their needs." The appointment, which took effect on 22 November, came at the conclusion of this year's ALTA Airline Leaders Forum in Buenos Aires, which was attended by some 500 delegates. <br/>