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Newstrack
Airline companies scout for flying talent in foreign skies
Shaheen Mansuri - Mumbai
Airlines in India are not just increasingly flying international, but are also
are scouting for expatriates to steer their airplanes to overcome the current
shortage of trained pilots in the country.
Kingfisher Airlines, for instance, just concluded their interviews in Brazil
and Venezuela and Jet Airways is not far behind either. It has advertised to
hire pilots especially from the US. Kingfisher needs to add another 130 over
the next one-year to its 70-strong roster now and Jet has a 25 per cent shortage
in terms of pilot requirement. A recent report by Ernst & Young says that
currently 1,800 pilots service the entire fleet of over 200 aircraft in India.
However, to match the projected growth in the fleet size, an additional 2,400
pilots will be required by 2010. Says Rubi Arya, head human resource, Kingfisher
Airlines, "We are conducting roadshows across the globe to hire pilots.
Recently, we received several applications in a roadshow held in Rio de Janeiro
on July 20. We met able candidates in Caracas, Venezeula too on July 24."
Says Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, chief executive officer, Jet Airways, "We
have over 550 pilots now and by 2008, we plan to have over 1,000." The
airline, he claimed, has recently received many applications from expatriates
to join the airline. For expats, it's a lucrative option.
"On average, an expat will fetch a 30 per cent higher
salary when compared to his domestic counterparts, which by itself is a whopping
Rs 4.2 lakh per month," says Arya. Agrees an official from SpiceJet, "Foreign
pilots in India earn the heaviest pay packets. An expatriate pilot flying a
wide-bodied aircraft in India earns around US$ 13,000 a month, as against US$
10,000 in other countries." This airline too has applications from pilots
based in Europe and US for its fleet. An official from Air Deccan says, "Training
pilots is a lengthy process with a low success rate in India. We have ordered
wide bodies aircraft for which deliveries are due from next year."
| EAW Staff
Falling pilot quality is ringing alarm bells on
Indian skies, according to the Air Passengers Association of India (APAI).
To address safety issues of such grave concern, APAI has proposed that
the Centre should go for a TRAI-model Aviation Regulatory Authority of
India.
A meeting of the national executive here has demanded
that the Centre get cracking on the Bill of air passenger rights that
APAI had drafted. Creation of a Cabinet sub-panel to study the charter
has only slowed down the decision-making process on a matter of urgency,
according to APAI.
"Medical fitness norms mandatory for Indian pilots
are not applicable to the foreign pilots, increasingly employed by airlines
companies in India. And in the wake of acute pilot shortage, airline companies
are resisting any measure to make service terms for pilots less attractive,"
D Sudhakar Reddy (national president, APAI) said, after the executive
meeting.
APAI is a 10,000-member outfit formed in 1990, known
to be in cockpit of India's aviation reforms. Pilots from countries such
as Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Africa and South America are hired to meet
the pilot shortage in India. As on March 2007, there are 573 expat pilots
in India, according to DGCA statistics.
APAI points out two common problems in the foreign pilots
on Indian skies. One, they are not experienced enough to fly in Indian
weather, especially during monsoon. Two, the pilot's language problem
causes errors in communication with air traffic control.
"Giving them a waiver on the periodic medical check-up
is a big risk on passenger safety," says Milan Ratilal Zatakia, national
vice-president APAI.
Fitness of aircraft and that of pilot cannot be given
the go by. It is to address issues like air safety, loss of baggage and
unhygienic food, that the Aviation Regulatory Authority of India - in
the model of telecom and insurance watchdog bodies - is proposed. This
authority is to cover the entire gamut of the airline industry, including
airports and agents.
"This proposed outfit is not the same as the Airport
Economic Regulators Authority of India, which ministry of civil aviation
is already considering. This would be besides that," says Hiren Bhaskar
Shah, national secretary, APAI. The 'Economic Regulators' authority is
to cover only the tariff-related issues, while the one that APAI proposes
includes the passengers' concerns too.
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