New Delhi: Tata Group-owned Air India and Air India Express have hiked pilot salaries by 9-15% to stem attrition amid intensifying poaching by rival IndiGo and Middle East airlines.The move is likely to set off a round of salary increases at other carriers as Indian airlines accelerate aircraft induction and Gulf carriers embark on a hiring spree.Also Read: Air India CEO Tewolde Gebremariam will have to handle airline's many challengesFrom October, senior commanders at Air India will earn around Rs 7 lakh per month for 40 hours of flying — up 9% from the current Rs 6.41 lakh, according to an internal document reviewed by ET. At the maximum limit of 70 hours per month, pay rises to Rs 8.9 lakh, about 17% higher than the current Rs 7.61 lakh.Air India has also introduced a one-time transfer allowance of Rs 10-21 lakh for pilots willing to move to low-cost subsidiary Air India Express, which plans to induct around 40 Boeing 737 Max aircraft and will need additional cockpit crew to support the expansion.Building a pilot pool is a time-intensive process. Trainee first officers require six months of training before they can fly commercially, and a minimum of 1,500 hours in the right seat before they are eligible for a captain upgrade, though individual airlines can set higher thresholds.The salary revision comes as IndiGo, which holds over 65% of India's domestic market and is inducting one new aircraft per week, has poached over 70 senior first officers from Air India Express following the December operational meltdown caused by a pilot shortage.Also Read: Air India plots Sept flight comeback, to add frequencies to New York, Tokyo, MilanIndiGo has launched one of its largest-ever recruitment drives and has sharply accelerated captain upgrades — converting over 100 first officers in May alone.Middle East carriers have added to the pressure. Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad are actively recruiting Indian pilots, offering significantly higher pay alongside wide-body flying experience — a combination domestic carriers find hard to match on salary alone.An Air India official said the airline is offering structured career progression — faster command opportunities at Air India Express, followed by wide-body flying on long-haul routes to Europe and North America, where allowances are higher than on narrow-body operations."A first officer from Air India can become a captain at Air India Express, and subsequently pursue wide-body flying and command opportunities," the official said.Pilots, however, are aggrieved over one key change — flying hours will now be calculated on published block time rather than actual flying time."Actual flying time is often higher than published block time, especially on metro-to-metro routes due to congestion-related delays. This could represent a significant pay cut," said a senior captain at the airline.