Training - Talent Hunt!

According to an industry thumb rule, 100 to 150 employees are required per aircraft—the number the airlines will need to factor in for each additional aircraft

The Indian airline industry is in transition. The country is basking in the glow of leading low-cost carrier (LCC) IndiGo’s mind-blowing impending order for 180 A320 airliners. Airbus claims the deal will be the commercial aviation industry’s largest till date by number and one of the biggest by value. IndiGo is bullish on India’s growth story. Having recently become the country’s number two airline by market share (a distinction it shares with Kingfisher Airlines) and raring to go international in August, IndiGo can, and must think big. SpiceJet—India’s second largest LCC—recently placed an order for 30 Boeing B737 jets and 30 Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft. Air India plans to double its fleet to 272 planes over the next five years. While Jet Airways is reportedly planning to add 49 aircraft over the next five years, Kingfisher has another 130 airliners on order.

Planes Need People

The 2010 year-end review of the Ministry of Civil Aviation stated that there are currently 419 aircraft with scheduled operators, while non-scheduled aircraft number 360. Boeing’s 2010 market outlook predicts that India will need 1,150 commercial jets over the next 20 years. Airbus has a slightly lower estimate of 1,032 units. The next five years alone should see about 350 new planes joining the country’s airlines. That is not all. The Business Aviation Association for India (BAAI) predicts there will be 1,400 business aviation aircraft including helicopters by 2015, against 550 today.

The prospect of hundreds of aircraft flying into the country is a sign that Indian aviation has arrived. Experts say aviation is crucial for economic growth as it has a multiplier effect on job creation. But where will the necessary pilots come from? What about the cabin crew, the engineers, the support staff—all highly-skilled people who need much time and specific-to-type training? According to an industry thumb rule, 100 to 150 employees are required per airliner—the number, the airlines will need to factor in for each additional aircraft. The figure does not include jobs like catering, ground handling and related functions that can be outsourced. HR departments will have to work overtime to meet the demand. As for business aviation, there is already a huge shortage of skilled manpower. There may be a seeming surplus of pilots right now, but they are those who lack the required flying hours, have foreign licences, or do not fit the bill for one reason or another.

Training Travails

Where do pilots come from? Apart from the state-owned Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) in Uttar Pradesh that trains 100 students per year, there are perhaps 25 flying clubs/government flying training institutes. There also are several privately-run flying schools approved by the Directorate General of ivil Aviation (DGCA). Each year, several hundred students obtain their Commercial Pilot’s Licence (CPL) in India or overseas. A pilot must log at least 200 flying hours to get a CPL. Shortcuts probably abound. Last November, the Rajasthan Police busted a racket involving some students obtaining their licence allegedly by simply buying flying hours from an institute rather than actually flying. Could it be the tip of the iceberg? Some schools are reportedly still using obsolete aircraft like the piston engine Cessna 152, production of which ceased in 1985.

The coveted CPL comes at a cost—IGRUA’s training fee is a cool Rs. 24.60 lakh. Yet even the CPL instrument rating and multi-engine type rating (CPL-IR/ME) qualifies a candidate to fly only as a copilot. The industry naturally prefers those with at least three to four years of experience and an Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence (ATPL), who can quickly occupy the captain’s seat. At last count, around 3,000 unemployed and inexperienced CPLs were available yet out of 100 applicants airlines find that barely 15 meet their requirements. Most carriers take the easy way out and hire expatriates who have the requisite experience but cost more and come with their own set of problems. They currently constitute around 15 per cent of the total pilots in India. They were to be “phased out” by July this year, so that Indian co-pilots could be promoted. However, in January, the Ministry of Civil Aviation permitted domestic airlines to employ expat commanders until 2013. As for business aviation, there are no type training facilities in India for pilots. They have to be sent abroad to the manufacturer’s training facilities.