Korean Air, the nation’s largest flagship carrier, has been accused of “stealing” pilots from Air Busan and other budget carriers here by luring them with large paychecks and generous benefits.

Air Busan, a low-cost airline affiliated with Asiana Airlines, said Korea’s largest airline has been intentionally targeting its well-trained pilots, claiming this constitutes an act of unfair trade by using a dominant market position.

However, Korean Air said there was nothing wrong with its hiring practices, insisting it has not targeted experienced pilots of any particular airline. The company said it is entirely up to pilots themselves whether to change jobs or not.

Korean Air recently hired four pilots who used to be in the cockpit of the Air Busan fleet. In August last year, one Air Busan pilot moved to the flagship carrier.

In response, the budget airline cried foul over Korean Air’s hiring of its pilots, claiming that the company was systematically stealing experienced manpower from it.

“Korean Air operates a training center, producing a substantial number of pilots. However, it is still engaged in the dubious practice of stealing flight operators from low-cost carriers. This is tantamount to an act of violating fair trade rules,” an Air Busan spokeswoman said.

She said it usually takes up to 9 months to train pilots and put them into the field, costing at least 50 million won ($45,000) per person. “If Korean Air continues to engage in such practices, low cost carriers will end up becoming a training school for larger airlines.”

Pilots of budget airlines are known to receive about 80 percent of what their counterparts at Korean Air and Asiana Airlines earn.

However, Korean Air refuted Air Busan’s claim, saying its pilot hiring system was in accordance with industry norms and the laws.

“It is totally up to pilots themselves whether to change workplace or not. It will be discriminatory if we tell pilots from budget carriers not to apply for our positions,” a Korean Air spokesman said.

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