Nevrekar
31st May 2007, 12:37
1. DGCA AIC: This a process all expat Capts have to go through before they can start flying. Your Carrier should brief you on what you need to know. Primarily FDTL(flight duty time limits) and rest requirements plus route structure etc. It can take anywhere from 5 minutes (me) or 45 mins. If you go there with an "attitude" you can fail, and that means you have to come back a week or so later.
2. The DGCA. It will shock you when you get there. The building (apparently much better than a year ago) is an embarassment to say the least. There is debris lying in the halls and we were shown rooms full of pilot medical and other files just strewn all over the floor. The officials (some) are walking around in socks and slippers, and the rest of the crowd is drinking tea while the housekeeping lady is out with a bucket cleaning up the never ending mess. The DGCA head and his co-board member (2 required for AIC) were very pleasant and nice but they are definitely overworked and the office was in shambles. Go there with a sense of humour and go with the flow. Don't use the bathroom! Or else take pictures---maybe then someone will believe you!!
The first time I went there, one guy didnt show so I could not complete the process.I had to come back a day later. An Indian Capt will escort you to the DGCA and introduce you to the folks. They need to see your logbooks, medical and licenses and will question your experience, especially your PIC time in type. If you are right at minimum (500) they may look closer. It wasn't an issue for me. The reason for the AIC I'm told is that folks were coming in and getting hired without proper verifiable credentials. Some airlines were desperate and were overlooking stuff.
3. Housing. Believe it or not the housing allowance offered should be looked at more as a subsidy rather than a full housing allowance. What I have found is that here in Delhi, newly built buildings are poorly built and once they are operational, maintenance (presssure washing, painting etc) is non-existent.
2 year buildings look like a decade or more older. I saw an apt owned by an Indian Major General. The entrance to the building had paint peeling, the wallls were cracked, and the exterior of the building looked really bad. Also when you are shown an apartment here, they dont have it in "show" condition. Prepare to be shocked. They are usually so filthy that you almost cant visualize living there. The Gen's Apt was 3 bedroom/3bath and he wanted INR 60,000 plus 5,000 maintenance a month.Thats around $1590/month. To get something close to what you might be used to back home (US for me) I am estimating spending around 2000-$2500/month for housing.
And also now that the dollar is 41 to the Rupee instead of 48, it really means that on an income of $10000, you lose around $1900 every month b/c of the currency exchange rate. If you are single maybe the 5*hotel is the best bet.
Hope this info helps. Not intended to discredit the country or anything. Just my personal observations.
2. The DGCA. It will shock you when you get there. The building (apparently much better than a year ago) is an embarassment to say the least. There is debris lying in the halls and we were shown rooms full of pilot medical and other files just strewn all over the floor. The officials (some) are walking around in socks and slippers, and the rest of the crowd is drinking tea while the housekeeping lady is out with a bucket cleaning up the never ending mess. The DGCA head and his co-board member (2 required for AIC) were very pleasant and nice but they are definitely overworked and the office was in shambles. Go there with a sense of humour and go with the flow. Don't use the bathroom! Or else take pictures---maybe then someone will believe you!!
The first time I went there, one guy didnt show so I could not complete the process.I had to come back a day later. An Indian Capt will escort you to the DGCA and introduce you to the folks. They need to see your logbooks, medical and licenses and will question your experience, especially your PIC time in type. If you are right at minimum (500) they may look closer. It wasn't an issue for me. The reason for the AIC I'm told is that folks were coming in and getting hired without proper verifiable credentials. Some airlines were desperate and were overlooking stuff.
3. Housing. Believe it or not the housing allowance offered should be looked at more as a subsidy rather than a full housing allowance. What I have found is that here in Delhi, newly built buildings are poorly built and once they are operational, maintenance (presssure washing, painting etc) is non-existent.
2 year buildings look like a decade or more older. I saw an apt owned by an Indian Major General. The entrance to the building had paint peeling, the wallls were cracked, and the exterior of the building looked really bad. Also when you are shown an apartment here, they dont have it in "show" condition. Prepare to be shocked. They are usually so filthy that you almost cant visualize living there. The Gen's Apt was 3 bedroom/3bath and he wanted INR 60,000 plus 5,000 maintenance a month.Thats around $1590/month. To get something close to what you might be used to back home (US for me) I am estimating spending around 2000-$2500/month for housing.
And also now that the dollar is 41 to the Rupee instead of 48, it really means that on an income of $10000, you lose around $1900 every month b/c of the currency exchange rate. If you are single maybe the 5*hotel is the best bet.
Hope this info helps. Not intended to discredit the country or anything. Just my personal observations.