Gurgaon-based budget airline SpiceJet will recruit 150 pilots and 300 cabin crew to launch the regional airline connecting smaller towns with metro cities in south India shortly.
The airline announced its intent to tap the growing regional market with an order for 15 Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft - which can accommodate 70-80 people - in December last year. It is likely to choose Hyderabad as its base for regional operations in the beginning.
"We will recruit 150 pilots and 300 cabin crew for the regional airline. We will recruit chief of pilots and chief of engineering for the regional operations as the aircraft is new for the Indian aviation market. These positions will be filled in by the expats and we are in the process of finalising the names," said Neil Mills, CEO, SpiceJet.
The high crude prices have been a worry for the airlines - crude touched $119 per barrel mark on Monday - but SpiceJet will be going ahead with its expansion plans.
"There is some pain in the sector right now because of the oil prices, but we will continue to expand. There is huge opportunity in the tier II and the tier III cities and that is where we will be looking to expand," he said.
Aviation experts feel SpiceJet will use the regional operations to carry the feeder traffic for the onward journeys for international legacy carriers like British Airways.