NEW DELHI: The government has asked domestic carriers not to hire foreign co-pilots as there is already a glut of Indian co-pilots, with airlines getting anywhere between 20 to 40 applications for each position.

In a meeting with airlines, the aviation ministry said it could understand that India still has a shortage of trained commanders/captains and airlines may have to hire expats. But as far as co-pilots go, airlines need to select desi ones.

At present, India has 944 foreign pilots - 810 commanders and 134 co-pilots. Airlines like Indigo, Alliance Air, Jet, Air India and Blue Dart have the maximum number of expat co-pilots. Others like SpiceJet and JetLite don’t have any foreign co-pilot, while Kingfisher and GoAir have one each.

An airline official said: ‘‘Sometimes we have to hire foreign co-pilots as they have type rating for flying a plane like the A 320 or Boeing 737. In that case, they can start flying the moment they join us.’’

On the other hand, hiring a fresh Indian co-pilot means that airlines have to first get a type rating for the aircraft they will have to operate. This means sending commercial pilot licence holders abroad for training on simulator of planes like an A-320 or Boeing 737, something that takes a few months and costs anywhere up to Rs 7 lakh.

A fresh CPL holder can join an airline as co-pilot and then get type-rating (training to fly a certain aircraft). Once a type-rated pilot flies for between 1,500 and 2,500 hours, he or she becomes a commander/captain. At each level, the salary jumps from - Rs 60,000-80,000; Rs 1-1.5 lakh and Rs 2-2.5 lakh.

Now government is not willing to buy lack of trained pilots excuse of airlines to hire expats. In fact, Monday’s diktat of not disregarding Indian co-pilots is the second move in as many months to protect Indian students who spend anywhere upto Rs 22 lakh - almost everyone takes an education loan for this - to become a pilot.
source: The Times of India

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