Nevrekar
25th Feb 2007, 11:37
Job seekers crowd the cockpit
VISHAKHA TALREJA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2007 03:40:37 AM]
NEW DELHI: Pilot shortage and the lucrative pay packet that the offers is attracting people from myriad backgrounds to fly commercial aircraft. And it’s not just air force and naval officers who are ready to make a career switch but also dentists, architects, software engineers, flight pursers et al who are looking at flying as a new career.
According to industry experts, the average age of such professionals joining a flying school is 35 years. Sample this. SpiceJet has a former truck driver from Canada flying one of its planes. Another one is a former chartered accountant.
Jet Airways recently recruited a ground staff engineer who took pilot training and is a full time pilot on its rolls now. Air India, on the other hand, has a flight purser who now doesn’t serve food but is inside the cockpit flying the aircraft.
Similarly the common man’s airline Air Deccan has BPO executives flying its aircraft. It also had an ex merchant navy professional as its pilot who later joined some other airline.
“Chartered Accountants, people from merchant navy and with management background are now joining airlines as pilots We have witnessed this trend in the last 12 months,” says Captain J S Dhillon, executive vice president, flight operations, SpiceJet. Out of SpiceJet’s 120 pilots, 15% are those for whom flying is a second career. Most of them are in the age bracket of 30-35 years.
A senior official from the national carrier agrees with the trend and says “Besides professionals from defence forces, cabin crew members and ground instructors are also taking flying as their second career. At Air India we have quite a mix of pilots ranging between 22 year old to 55 year old”. Air India has around 600 pilots.
“With ample jobs available for pilots in India now people from different professions are taking up pilot training,” says Captain Rajiv Kothiyal, deputy vice president flight operations, Air Deccan. Out of the 400 pilots that Air Deccan has on its rolls, around 50 (including defence personnel) are those for whom flying is a second career.
“Looking at the value proposition i.e high salary and good lifestyle even I wouldn’t mind switching and becoming a pilot,” says Jeh Wadia, managing director, GoAir. In the last eight months the airline has received three applications from cabin crew members who are interested in pilot training. GoAir has a total of 121 pilots.
VISHAKHA TALREJA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2007 03:40:37 AM]
NEW DELHI: Pilot shortage and the lucrative pay packet that the offers is attracting people from myriad backgrounds to fly commercial aircraft. And it’s not just air force and naval officers who are ready to make a career switch but also dentists, architects, software engineers, flight pursers et al who are looking at flying as a new career.
According to industry experts, the average age of such professionals joining a flying school is 35 years. Sample this. SpiceJet has a former truck driver from Canada flying one of its planes. Another one is a former chartered accountant.
Jet Airways recently recruited a ground staff engineer who took pilot training and is a full time pilot on its rolls now. Air India, on the other hand, has a flight purser who now doesn’t serve food but is inside the cockpit flying the aircraft.
Similarly the common man’s airline Air Deccan has BPO executives flying its aircraft. It also had an ex merchant navy professional as its pilot who later joined some other airline.
“Chartered Accountants, people from merchant navy and with management background are now joining airlines as pilots We have witnessed this trend in the last 12 months,” says Captain J S Dhillon, executive vice president, flight operations, SpiceJet. Out of SpiceJet’s 120 pilots, 15% are those for whom flying is a second career. Most of them are in the age bracket of 30-35 years.
A senior official from the national carrier agrees with the trend and says “Besides professionals from defence forces, cabin crew members and ground instructors are also taking flying as their second career. At Air India we have quite a mix of pilots ranging between 22 year old to 55 year old”. Air India has around 600 pilots.
“With ample jobs available for pilots in India now people from different professions are taking up pilot training,” says Captain Rajiv Kothiyal, deputy vice president flight operations, Air Deccan. Out of the 400 pilots that Air Deccan has on its rolls, around 50 (including defence personnel) are those for whom flying is a second career.
“Looking at the value proposition i.e high salary and good lifestyle even I wouldn’t mind switching and becoming a pilot,” says Jeh Wadia, managing director, GoAir. In the last eight months the airline has received three applications from cabin crew members who are interested in pilot training. GoAir has a total of 121 pilots.