ghora86286
8th Jul 2008, 05:59
This just came in from Tehelka
Tehelka - India's Independent Weekly News Magazine (http://www.tehelka.com/story_main39.asp?filename=Ws120708Wanted.asp)
Wanted: Pilots
The aviation industry will suffer a pilot crunch following the DGCA ruling to phase out foreign pilots — but there will be a glut soon, reportsKRISHN KAUSHIK
Greek, Romanian, Portugese, Irish — listening to a multiplicity of pilot accents has become routine for frequent fliers. It has to, now that over 1,000 foreign captains, expatriate pilots are part of the Indian airspace. Their tenure, however, appears to be tenuous. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) wants all aviation operators to phase out foreign pilots and replace them by trained Indian pilots. "Foreign pilots will be phased out in five years," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has told Parliament, adding, "In another five years, India will need 6,000 more certified captains."
Where these numbers will come from is a matter of conjecture: the nation's premier training institute, Rashtriya Uran Akademi, can train just 40 pilots a year. Patel's ministry is upgrading infrastructure to make that 100 a year and by 2010, it will have established another institute. The ministry has also increased the upper age limit from 60 to 65 years. But, as Sean Butler, director, sales and marketing, Parc Aviation, says, "There will be a need for 8,000 pilots by 2020."
Indian aviation is likely to first suffer a resource crunch and then, a glut. Currently, a new entrant needs two years to get adequate flying experience for a commercial pilot's licence (cpl). So, most trainees rush to foreign flying schools (in the Philippines or Bosnia, where it takes 8-15 months to get the required flying hours). An estimated 6,000 young Indians have already embarked on training courses — spending Rs 20-25 lakh each — over the last 18 months.
But going for a flying course to a private institute in India or abroad comes with its own share of risks. Recent incidents have portrayed how budding pilots are often taken for a ride by some institutes. Just recently, the American School of Aviation, California, owned and managed by an nri called Manpreet "Prince" Singh, shut down midway through the course, without any prior notification, leaving about 100 Indian students stranded. The students, many of whom had taken loans for the fee amount ($40,000), now have nowhere to go and are solely dependant on the Indian consulate in California to help them.
Another problem the industry is facing is fake certification: a private aviation institute (Carver Aviation Academy in Maharashtra) had issued fake certificates to students in the past, by forging signatures and stamps of the Indian Air Force. After this alarming fraud was detected, dgca officials admitted that the incident might not be an exception. It's now decided to hold regular inspection at all aviation institutes, to forestall any such tactics.
But is the growth in Indian aviation actually enough to absorb these numbers? India currently has less than 400 aircraft, and orders for the next 5-10 years will add 500 more. Current policy requires a manning level of five sets of crew per aircraft (that's 5,000 more pilots). Half would be First Officers (from the current crop of trainees). "Where will the rest of the cpl holders go?" asks aviation analyst Kapil Kaul.
And the growing numbers still don't solve the problem of the lack of trained captains. cpl holders can graduate to a higher grade only after three years, a gap that's being filled by expatriate pilots now. They are also filling positions that Indian pilots refuse. "Indian pilots don't want to fly atrs and we have to get foreign pilots for them," Captain G. Gopinath of Air Deccan told TEHELKA. That's also true for private small aircraft: when Gautam Singhania bought an eight-seater Challenger-604 four months ago, manufacturers Bombardier had to arrange for a foreign pilot.
Relying extensively on foreign pilots comes problems as well. If a pilot resigns while he's been sent to Boeing's Seattle base for checks, the Indian airline loses revenue. Other hiccups include a language problem in communicating with Indian crews, and that some perks — like week-long breaks — upset their Indian counterparts who don't enjoy such benefits.
Now, with the present government wanting the expatriate pilots to be phased out, it's quite likely that pilots are going to be spread very thin in the Indian airspace.
Tehelka - India's Independent Weekly News Magazine (http://www.tehelka.com/story_main39.asp?filename=Ws120708Wanted.asp)
Wanted: Pilots
The aviation industry will suffer a pilot crunch following the DGCA ruling to phase out foreign pilots — but there will be a glut soon, reportsKRISHN KAUSHIK
Greek, Romanian, Portugese, Irish — listening to a multiplicity of pilot accents has become routine for frequent fliers. It has to, now that over 1,000 foreign captains, expatriate pilots are part of the Indian airspace. Their tenure, however, appears to be tenuous. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) wants all aviation operators to phase out foreign pilots and replace them by trained Indian pilots. "Foreign pilots will be phased out in five years," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has told Parliament, adding, "In another five years, India will need 6,000 more certified captains."
Where these numbers will come from is a matter of conjecture: the nation's premier training institute, Rashtriya Uran Akademi, can train just 40 pilots a year. Patel's ministry is upgrading infrastructure to make that 100 a year and by 2010, it will have established another institute. The ministry has also increased the upper age limit from 60 to 65 years. But, as Sean Butler, director, sales and marketing, Parc Aviation, says, "There will be a need for 8,000 pilots by 2020."
Indian aviation is likely to first suffer a resource crunch and then, a glut. Currently, a new entrant needs two years to get adequate flying experience for a commercial pilot's licence (cpl). So, most trainees rush to foreign flying schools (in the Philippines or Bosnia, where it takes 8-15 months to get the required flying hours). An estimated 6,000 young Indians have already embarked on training courses — spending Rs 20-25 lakh each — over the last 18 months.
But going for a flying course to a private institute in India or abroad comes with its own share of risks. Recent incidents have portrayed how budding pilots are often taken for a ride by some institutes. Just recently, the American School of Aviation, California, owned and managed by an nri called Manpreet "Prince" Singh, shut down midway through the course, without any prior notification, leaving about 100 Indian students stranded. The students, many of whom had taken loans for the fee amount ($40,000), now have nowhere to go and are solely dependant on the Indian consulate in California to help them.
Another problem the industry is facing is fake certification: a private aviation institute (Carver Aviation Academy in Maharashtra) had issued fake certificates to students in the past, by forging signatures and stamps of the Indian Air Force. After this alarming fraud was detected, dgca officials admitted that the incident might not be an exception. It's now decided to hold regular inspection at all aviation institutes, to forestall any such tactics.
But is the growth in Indian aviation actually enough to absorb these numbers? India currently has less than 400 aircraft, and orders for the next 5-10 years will add 500 more. Current policy requires a manning level of five sets of crew per aircraft (that's 5,000 more pilots). Half would be First Officers (from the current crop of trainees). "Where will the rest of the cpl holders go?" asks aviation analyst Kapil Kaul.
And the growing numbers still don't solve the problem of the lack of trained captains. cpl holders can graduate to a higher grade only after three years, a gap that's being filled by expatriate pilots now. They are also filling positions that Indian pilots refuse. "Indian pilots don't want to fly atrs and we have to get foreign pilots for them," Captain G. Gopinath of Air Deccan told TEHELKA. That's also true for private small aircraft: when Gautam Singhania bought an eight-seater Challenger-604 four months ago, manufacturers Bombardier had to arrange for a foreign pilot.
Relying extensively on foreign pilots comes problems as well. If a pilot resigns while he's been sent to Boeing's Seattle base for checks, the Indian airline loses revenue. Other hiccups include a language problem in communicating with Indian crews, and that some perks — like week-long breaks — upset their Indian counterparts who don't enjoy such benefits.
Now, with the present government wanting the expatriate pilots to be phased out, it's quite likely that pilots are going to be spread very thin in the Indian airspace.