Writ plea against engaging foreign pilots in India ...
 

CHENNAI, June 15, 2010
The Madras High Court on Monday directed the Director of Medical Services (Civil Aviation) and the DGCA to file their counter to a writ petition which said the various airlines be forthwith restrained from engaging pilots under the Foreign Aircrew Temporary Authorisation (FATA.)
When the petition came up, the First Bench consisting of Chief Justice M.Y. Eqbal and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam said the issue raised by the petitioner was really a serious matter concerning the public because of the recent casualty.
In his affidavit filed on behalf of the petitioner, the Society for Welfare of Indian Pilots, Mumbai, J.S. Krishna of Chennai, a society member, said the writ proceedings were being instituted in public interest with a view to ensuring air passenger safety. This was because various airlines — Jet Airways (India) Ltd. and eight others — cited as respondents, were engaging a substantial number of pilots under FATA who were not required to meet the same minimal flying experience and medical fitness requirements as in the case of Indian pilots.
As per clause 2.2 of Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), Section 7, Series ‘G' Part II issued by the DGCA on October 8, 1999 as revised on August 8, 2009, the minimum experience requirement for engagement as Pilot in Command (PIC) under FATA is 2,000 hours flying experience as PIC, of which 100 should be on type, that was on the type of aircraft to be flown in India.
On the other hand, airlines in India required an Indian PIC to have a minimum of 5,000 hours of flying experience and a minimum of 1,000 hours as PIC on the type aircraft.
The requirement of low experience on type for pilots compromised air passenger safety.
The petitioner submitted that foreign pilots engaged under FATA did not have the medical checks that Indian Pilots had to undergo. Medical fitness standards for Indian pilots were rigorous. However, pilots engaged under FATA were required to undergo only a simple medical check-up with a local medical practitioner approved by the respective State regulatory authorities.
The discrimination between pilots engaged under FATA and Indian pilots in respect of experience and minimum fitness requirements was ultra vires of Article 14 of the Constitution. The petitioner prayed the court to declare clause 2.2. of CAR regarding minimum experience requirement for engaging as PIC under FATA and in permitting different medical standards for FATA pilots and Indian pilots as ultra vires. The society sought an ad-interim direction to the authorities to ensure that pilots engaged by airlines under FATA were subjected to the same medical tests at the same institutions as their Indian counterparts and were required to have the same medical standards of fitness as the Indian pilots.
The Bench also directed the authorities to seek instructions as to why the interim direction sought be not passed immediately. The matter has been posted for July 5.


The Hindu : Cities / Chennai : Writ plea against engaging foreign pilots

Interpret anyone?

sulkair - They have come to the conclusion that Cpt Glusica had some medical condition that was not spotted on the medical check with his "simple medical check-up with a local medical practitioner" and therefore, to prevent future disasters, they are now changing the requirements for foreign air crew. Must be what they mean right? I mean, the guy had 10.000-something hours, so flight time (experience) can not be the factor in this case....... Or am I misreading this? ;)

Quote: "....the writ proceedings were being instituted in public interest with a view to ensuring air passenger safety...."

Good. :D There shouldn't be a standard for one and another standard for another.

At the same time let's put ALL pilots (foreign and indigenous) through independent Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, etc, etc simulator evaluations; TRI's and TRE's alike.

After all, safety is the primary concern, so at what cost lives? If you don't posses the required capacity (medical certificate, flying skills and / or knowledge let alone application) to utilize the privileges and limitations of an ATP / ATPL and I.R. for airline / jet transport operations then you shouldn't be licensed to do so.

So, make it transparent and a level playing field, not just picking on one (very important) facet. Make it all inclusive of medical certification, skills, knowledge and application.

AND if pilots are left wanting, how about we look at WHY they were ever employed in the first place? Another can of worms, eh?

This is all typical 3rd world BS. "Cant see the wood for the trees". Why don't you guys in India, just get a load of world class athletes and train them up too fly? Don't mean they wont have a heart attack, BTW.. where was the SIC, when the Mangalore tragedy took place? Sitting in his seat, just watching it happen?

This reminds me of an occasion, in some other 3rd world outfit. A local crew managed to stall the aircraft, completely. The local management, instead of trying to work out why he got the thing stalled in the first instance, made all the crews go for additional stall recovery training!! LOL!! No, dinkim, I kid you not!

Man, I sure do wish the moderators would sweep this place to get rid of this tiring anti-foreigners BS emerging from India and infesting the forum and its threads. :=

Hear me out,

Being one of the unemployed ones too, I understand the need for Expats working here. Indian pilots do not have the experience to match up to the requirements of just jumping in the left seat. More than experience, the pilot needs to be mentally prepared too. I have friends who are flying with different carriers and have been offered command but have turned it down because they choose to fly for some more time before they become PIC.

We need the Expats and without them Indian Aviation would go nowhere. Think of it this way, with more Expats, the airline can fly because there is no shortage for commanders. They fly so they make money. They make money so they order more planes and start up new routes. Which in turn means first officer openings will pop up which, we, will be able to apply for.

And regarding the IXE crash, please, lets not jump to any conclusions until we know for sure what really happened.

@doubleu-anker

Or why dont you leave the task of regulating/licencing/policing to the DGCA and other regulatory bodies in India, and just stick to flying planes or look elsewhere for jobs ? Not rocket science right ?

Or how about you "First world" "Gods of Aviation" just REMAIN in your "First World" instead of drooling over the money in the " 3rd world" here and then grumble about the standards and policies here ???

What made you all leave your homes and family from your utopian wonderland called "First World", and come here of all the "stink holes" called the "Third World" ?? THINK.

Fair comment.

Oh they will find out quickly what happened alright, dont worry about that. in fact they already know. Will they ever find out the route causes of this tragedy? They even will know what the two pilots said. However, will they ever find out the thought process that may have been a big contributing factor in this and indeed all aircraft accidents.

As long as any man, regardless of race or creed, has his sticky little fingers on machinery, things will go wrong!!!! In many respects, man has become the weak link. Called human failings.

No I am not employed in India.

@saurabhm_101

To understand the need for expats has got nothing to do with being employed or unemployed. This petition has not been filed in court by 200 hour CPL holder.

Son, with all your 200 hours credentials, you sure do seem to know how to run an airline. Why dont you apply to the airlines for the post of Chief Pilot or VP.Ops instead ? Since you really seem to know all about experience and flight time requirements and upgrades ?

again son, you're romanticising. Either you're cooking up fairy tales or your friends are telling you fairy tales.
Im sure your friends are not in jet airways or jetlite, kingfisher, spicejet or indigo or air india. because I have friends in all these airlines and they tell me how frantically desperate they are to either get a chance for wide-body or command upgrade. and they also tell me how the company promised them upgrades at certain number of hours but are being refused now because of the number of expat P1s on contract.

(perhaps your friends are in paramount airways or blue dart or some other charter co ?? :rolleyes:)


Or think of it this way :
with more expats, the airline managements saves a lot of money which they would have to otherwise spend on intensive training of local crew. Training and bringing low time pilots to standards requires a good amount of money.
This money is much greater than the salaries paid to expats.

hence airlines will continue to hire expats at much higher salaries compared to Indian pilots because that is still cheaper than investing on simulator training for the local crew.

go see the rates for rental of simulators anywhere and examiners for training per hour and compared it with the amount of money spent on expat salaries (with allowances).

and dont worry about planes being parked on ground because of lack of commanders.
Airlines are run by businessmen. They know how to utilise their planes in whatever way to satisfy the local rules and regulations in place.
If there is a deadline to phase out expats then airlines will be forced to spend money on training and speed up upgrades of local crew and try their best to have minimum number of expats.
If there is no deadline set by DGCA and if there is no pressure from the public or media regarding expat phaseout then the airlines will never aggressively train and upgrade the local pilots which result in stagnation at the lower levels.

alphabravo,
your posts define the maturity of Indian Aviation. and believe me, it has a lot more ground to cover before it can be let loose. if your silly points are adhered to, it will do irreparable damage to the country, as well as aviation.
this site is one for the pilots of all countries to discuss issues, not an Indian Pilots bitching place over fellow pilots who are expats.
there are too many of you who think of themselves as Mangal Pandeys or Bhagat Singhs, but in reality, are the very people who prevent it (aviation) from evolving.

in S East Asia we have a story.
a Chinese cyclist waited at a traffic light, when a merc pulled up. this cyclist looked at the driver, and said to himself, "one day i will be driving one myself."
next, an Indian cyclist pulled up at the light., saw the merc, and he said to himself, "one day, you will be riding my bicycle." do you recognise the second cyclist, or the Indian crab ijn the bucket ??

@rdr
Exactly how do 'they' prevent it from evolving?

And as far as the South East Asian story goes, I think without loss of generality the nationalities of the characters in the story can be replaced by any nationality as long as the concerned country has a cyclist, a merc and a traffic light.

May be alphabravocharlie is right may be he is wrong, but he has reasoned, on other other hand you have merely alleged.

By the Way, your reference to Mangal Pandey and Bhagat Singh doesn't seem to be in the best taste.

@rdr

please tell me what exactly I have said or suggested which will result in damaging of indian aviation ?? :confused:
some damage recently happened in Mangalore. A boeing overran and crashed killing 152 people. Investigations are going on. Did I do any speculations ?

however, what is wrong in trying to prevent such things from taking place in the future ?
what is wrong in questioning and petitioning against the rules related to FATA for expats ?
The requirements for FATA are very vague and because of the existing rules, a lot of shady things are happening in the background. (Murky dealings involving recruitment agencies and expat salaries, middlemen making huge money in process)

you and so many others seem to suggest we not do such things to try and improve the situation here. why ??


yes, we call them "Kue ka maindak" (Frog in the well) here in India.
you are grossly generalising and showing Indians in poor light with the above story.
this happens everywhere, even in developed countries.

search on google for rednekk jokes, blonde jokes.

also see this :
YouTube - Miss Teen USA 2007 - South Carolina answers a question

so from the above video and jokes on google, can we conclude that all Americans are dumb blondes or rednekks ?
(thats what you seem to suggest with your generalisation)

With the amount of Anti-Expats BS postings creeping into this forum, you don't need foreigners to show you in poor light. You do a fantastic job yourself in that regard :rolleyes:

It is hightime for the moderators to clean up this place. It has become truly pathetic.

@burger thing
I'd agree with you that some things need to be cleaned up, but how come this concern for cleaning up was not there when so many expats were posting anti-India BS ????

for example the "You know you're in sub continent when .. " thread ..

@burger_thing wrote:

The thread title is
Being against engaging foreign pilots doesn't mean being against Expat.

If you wear green sunglasses, world will look a hell lot greenish. So the whole Expat BS is a matter of perception.

@ rdr

What alphabravo was trying to do is state the current state of situation faced by experienced local pilots (Not baby pilots with fresh CPL's) but guys with more than 3000 hrs on type are made to struggle by the employers because cost of ugradation is too high when they are getting vastly experienced expats for free (as most of expats are TRI/TRE) without any cost involvement....so airline saves money on training expats are happy with there flying work and locals are sulking with lack oppertunity and yes this Expat Vs locals have many silly points but hey in which industry this locals vs foreigner is not going on??
Expats and locals have been working from many years in India but airlines have not used both sets of pilots efficiently as local can gain so much from them but airlines are only cashing on expats to fill there finance books....

And hey if one Mangal pandey and Bhagat singh can bring so much change to British Raj ...then think what a group of modern locals can bring :E:E?? If u think bringing people from outside and suppressing locals can bring evolution then it just reflects your state of maturity....every country has a way to protect local employment and this is protectionism which is harm for every industry but u dont go on to kill locals for sake of EVOLUTION ...

Plus by your post u seems to be in for pilots are pilots .....so comparing nationality doesnt go well as per your reply....:ok:

@ doubleu-anker

Strange !! is in't? Folks from 1 world are commenting on BS from 3rd world posts??People like u can come and work an earn in this part of world but cant take when reality is told and all u get to reply is with " ohh im from 1 world and why is he talking :mad: "...

If u like ur work u can go and work any where....remember those days when pilots from all over the 1st world globe use to do bush flying and now they are skippers of 777/380 ?? God knows what u got to describe Africa as.....;)

@saurabhm_101

Did u just watched " Alice in the wonderland "??:}:}

doubleu-anker You seem to be calling everyplace 3rd world sir!! including the place you currently are ""It is a third world country! Always was and always will be! The gloss is coming off the polished turd." World has changed in last 30 years sir, we'll be glad if you take note of it...

"No I am not employed in India."

Well!! I hope you never will be...For your kind information we call it democracy, where everyone, who is anyone..can report, question, ask & demand the legal system for answers. You'll also be interested to know that unlike your 1st world, cost for this process is pretty affordable for the common man in India.

"Why don't you guys in India, just get a load of world class athletes and train them up too fly? "

Nice idea!! We can get anyone to work for us especially some greedy :mad:s from 1st world, we just have to show them a wad of $$ & they will come drooling, as that's what they do!!

@saurabhm_101 I don't believe you!!!I would certainly like to know one guy, who says he doesn't wanna go up the ladder when presented the opportunity. & remember I'm also in aviation having more than 200 hours.

In any trade absolution is never good. India needs expats, Indians need to be expats, & system needs some modifications. Accidents or no accidents, Its good people are questing policy makers as this is what defines democracy be it 1st, 2nd or 3rd world.

what he meant was that Indians can get a Merc and make merc owner drive for them...:E:}

Third World
 

Debunking the Myths about the third World


Asian Rise

it seems the expats are preoccupied with one thought-"all Indians hate us":*

In any pprune threads, before any Indian talks about the phasing out of expats-some irritated and affected users start complaining about . Same is happening here.

@jimmygill-green sunglasses and perception truly

As saurabhm_101 clearly in English writes the importance and contributions of expats in India, some users have failed in their interpretation of the plea in legal language. Can't blame them for that. Read this easy to understand related news ‘DGCA should check record of expat pilots’

DGCA has got strict guidelines, checks, and training syllabus for Indians. When it comes to FATA, its not as safety-friendly as it ought to be. But things are changing.

I agree this is all 3rd world nonsense, that makes no sense. :ok: everything from DGCA to the ATC system there is far outdated and downright sucks.
The ATC system is about the worst in the world, they are unable to handle more the 8 aircraft at a time without it seeming like major confusion.

Guys please wake up and get in line with the rest of the world and stop trying to reinvent the wheel.

Once the Indian Medical becomes compulsory for expats then 50% of them
will quit rather than actually go through it.. :}

Hey capt-Purple,
Interesting to see that coming out of some-one actually looking to work in Asia & middle east, aye!!:confused:...if these places don't make sense to you...how about working in 1st world of yours:}.
We know its out dated & not the most advance, it needs upgrade, no one here has nay second thought about it. But saying a writ is nonsense, I'll have serious doubt about your understanding of a democratic society:=. Read my earlier post on the topic. We belong to a free, democratic system, if that makes any sense to you. We can & are allowed by our government to question the policy makers, & we can afford to do that. You think that's backward, well! think again....

Sorry to intervene in the slagging match, but just to go back to the original post for a second.

I think the point about required amount of pic time on type is quite justified. 100 hours pic on type equates to maybe one or two months job experience. Where in the world would an airline recruit direct entry contract captains with so little experience??

Having said that I don't know of any expats who had less than 500 hours pic on type on joining where I am now, most had much more.

Also I am not aware of any expats that pop down to their local family doctor for a quick check up to be declared fit to fly. All go through proper six monthly medical checks with approved aero-medical examiners from their home countries' aviation authorities.

So basically the requirements brought in the case are already being met or even exceeded.

edited to avoid joining said slagging match

That is very true......very true...

On a side note though maybe the DGCA should consider making their medical exams a little less stringent than the current NASA astronaut standards they use nowadays.....

Yes, you should use the democratic system in India to vote for realistic medicals. If the most of the world with much larger and older aviation industries can manage to keep airplanes in the air without much of a problem, maybe India should give it a try. I can't remember the last flight which crashed due to a fat, out of shape, cheesburger eating American pilot droping dead. And there are plenty of them.
Maybe the payoffs should end as well. I have seen plenty of Indian pilots who can't pass your own medicals, but "somehow" they make it through.:ok:

Once the Indian Medical becomes compulsory for expats then 50% of them
will quit rather than actually go through it..

After doing some short-term work in India, as a TRI/TRE, I must admit it is truly a land of contradictions.

I seriously doubt the number would be that high, but as long as India has unrealistic medical criteria; there will be some who will not want to subject themselves to the medical process.

I realise the subject of Expats being employed by Indian airlines strikes a certain nerve. And I shall try to be as objective as I can.

The entire aviation segment in India needs to face up to certain facts that are really holding them back. The ATC system is light years behind the rest of the world. Is it the worst? Perhaps not, but it's close. For a country it's size and for the amount of air traffic that operates in it's airspace...YES.

I have never heard controllers jam up the frequency the way the controllers in India do. There is no such thing as radio discipline. But the pilots are not immune either. Their radio discipline is just about as bad.

There is very little coordination between FIRs in India. You might as well be flying through different countries while going from one FIR to another in India.

The lack of ability to control high traffic areas, such as Delhi is amazing. Years ago, upon my first arrival to DEL, I heard "minimum clean" for the first time. What an absurd directive. There I was arriving in my 744 whose minimum clean was 30-40KIAS higher than the 320 I was following. End result, a 45-mile final. That is not how you control traffic.

The aerodrome facilities are abysmal. Just look at BOM. There are certain airlines that operate in and out of there who prohibit using the cross runway due to it's extremely poor condition. Other high traffic airports lack things such as CATII/III approaches, ie., BLR.

Finally, and this is will receive some negative responses, the entire system of breath testing prior to flights. Personally, I have no problem with that system. However, it needs to be enforced in a uniform manner for all pilots. I have personally witnessed local pilots who knew they would fail, direct the other crewmember to accomplish the test. The physician on duty just turns a blind eye and everyone is satisfied. That is not the way it should be done.

After spending a couple of short stints there, I must admit, there is not enough money in the world to attract me to work anywhere in the aviation sector in India

Phil Squares
 

I concur with a certain points of yours..

1. Its not about the expats working here. I am well aware that with out expats
our airlines will find out almost impossible to operate. We have nothing against
expats. Its only these termites that come and complain and complain and keep
complaining about India. The point is simple. Expat means any person not being from india.. which means We have 150 countries out there to choose from. If you dont like this job then just leave, we are sure we can find some one who would like the place and the job. THATS EXACTLY EVERY INDIAN GUY IS STRESSING HERE.
We are always open to constructive criticism.

2. Again regarding ATC talking longggg is not an india centric issue. It exists all the way from Middle East to Far East (Not those UK or US Expat controllers working there) .. Its more of a racial thing. Yes things are changing. I know it.
I ve heard it. I ve seen it.

3. The new bangalore airport is a screw up (accepted) but that doesnt mean all the indian airports are like that. Hyderabad airport is ranked number 1 in the world in the 5-15 million category. By far its the best indian airport i ve flown into..

Unknown to you massive investment and planning is being made in Indian Aviation industry .. even before you fly in the next time.. expect things to look different..

And Finally I ve never skipped an alcohol breath analyser test. I ve not heard of any of my colleagues skip it either.

Don't know what all the complaining about indian medicals are about. I did mine down in Mumbai six months ago and no different than any other medical I have done any any other part of the world. No need for ANY expats to worry about it.

I also have not heard of any pilots that I work with to have had a problem with the indian medical. It is just a pain to take all day to fly down and get it done.

@ rspilot
I am sure that was not your first Indian medical, or was it?

read the newspaper today..the latest is they are gonna ban EXPATS from landing at some 'critical airports' from now on... shimla, patna, agartalla, jammu nd a few others...
how f*&^%d up is that? dunno wat they are thinking now

Again regarding ATC talking longggg is not an india centric issue
Not to beat a dead horse, but it is an India issue. I have been flying in that region of the world for the last 20 years and I have never seen RT discipline as poor as I have seen in India. The controllers seem to think the pilots work for them and any request is met with stiff resistance.

Unknown to you massive investment and planning is being made in Indian Aviation industry .. even before you fly in the next time.. expect things to look different..
Unknown to me? I don't live in a cave and I do get out once and a while. However, the investment going on in India is all for show. The simple fact is the ATC system in India is at or very close to the breaking point. There are plaudits for the new terminal at DEL. Great, will it increase the arrival/departure rate? No. DEL arrival and departures will still be a handled in the same antiquated manner. If you want to make an investment in aviation, send the controllers to LHR, HKG, LAX and see just how to handle peak arrivals and departures.

And Finally I ve never skipped an alcohol breath analyser test. I ve not heard of any of my colleagues skip it either.
Officially, the breath test wasn't skipped. It was just accomplished by someone other than the person who it was supposed to be administered to. I have seen that happen on several instances and I have other colleagues who have seen the same thing happen. Again, it's an antiquated approach to a problem that permeates every industry in the world. India needs to get in line with the rest of the world. Just like the initial physicals. What I hear everyone objecting to is the fact pilots from other countries can use the "validation" system (FATA) to work in India. That system exists in other countries and it's not an issue. As an ICAO member, India agrees to accept other countries medicals. If that is not what the pilots want, then allow expats to get a Indian license then they would have to subscribe to the Indian medical standards. Absent that, what people are demanding is the same as making every pilot who flies in and out of Indian airspace meet the Indian medical standards.

Its not about the expats working here. I am well aware that with out expats
our airlines will find out almost impossible to operate. We have nothing against
expats. Its only these termites that come and complain and complain and keep
complaining about India. The point is simple. Expat means any person not being from india.. which means We have 150 countries out there to choose from. If you dont like this job then just leave, we are sure we can find some one who would like the place and the job. THATS EXACTLY EVERY INDIAN GUY IS STRESSING HERE.
We are always open to constructive criticism

Sorry, but I sure don't get that from the posts I've read on this topic and the countless other posts about expats flying in India. First of all, pilots love to complain. Secondly, I think it's fair to say, the contracts that these pilots sign and come to work in India aren't worth the paper they are printed on. I know of countless pilots who have lost a lot of money because they haven't been paid, have been paid late or paid incorrectly. Terms agreed to by both parties are simply ignored or changed unilaterally. That's what gets under people's skin. Your solution is to just leave if you don't like it.

I can tell you since I was employed by an aircraft manufacturer, I really didn't worry about my contract, but I have seen expat pilots screwed left and right. And that's something that wouldn't happen to the local pilots.

At the end of all this, I am convinced Indian airlines will have a difficult time recruiting "quality" pilots. Most pilots I know, who have any self respect don't want to put up with the issues you have to as an expat pilot in India. You refer to 150 countries in which to choose from, be my guest. I think deep down you know the calibre of pilots you will attract. That will only serve to exacerbate the already growing problems in Indian commercial aviation

A pilot s capability is devoid of his nationality :8

You say u love to complain.. Sorry I dont.. And yes I fly in the same
skies you ve mentioned :cool:

Bonne Landings :ok:

ok guys, time for a break :)
Manju V. from Times of India 18june brings you Expat pilots to undergo med tests in India - India - The Times of India

hope this problem is brought to be noticed by the authorities in the DGCA. So that they can take corrective measures with the help of foreign reccommendations(US Civil Aviation, ofcourse)

Room for improvement:D

aditya.. the medical is going to be of renewal standards.. not initial..
u see what i mean.. :bored:

And the medical rules are still draft rules. I guess until 16th july to post comments.

@Phil_squares

Just for information, all contracts that are signed in India are enforced with same level of 'fairness' as the Expat-Airline contracts. Its a sorry and pathetic state that most contracts in India are difficult and costly to enforce. As a result of that unconscionable contracts are abundant in Indian industry. I can assure you expats are not treated with a different yard stick in this manner. Is your unfair assumption that what happens with expat pilots doesn't happen with local. An expat complaining about contracts is just like an expat who complains about heat in Delhi or sweat in Bombay, plain immature. Of course it is possible that the local is more adapted to weather and legal environment, and may fare better than expat if a bad treatment is meted out.

Having said that, I agree to your point that ATC needs to improve a hell lot. And that is something which is not related to investment, neither is it related to Indian culture, its primarily related to quality of training. Part of the Indian airspace which is not controlled by military is controlled by Airport Authority of India, and all ATC officers are AAI employee, somehow they think that they AAI owns the skies. But be assured this monopoly of AAI on air navigation will not stand long, soon the private airports will realise that their profits are being heavily restrained by inefficient ATC, and they will consolidate to pressurise government to remove that monopoly. It will take time, most new private operators are not yet fully operational, once they are done with the initial phase of capacity addition, they will soon move towards efficient utilisation of capacity.

India has seen sovereignty only for 6 decades out of last 3 centuries.

Just for information, all contracts that are signed in India are enforced with same level of 'fairness' as the Expat-Airline contracts. Its a sorry and pathetic state that most contracts in India are difficult and costly to enforce. As a result of that unconscionable contracts are abundant in Indian industry. I can assure you expats are not treated with a different yard stick in this manner. Is your unfair assumption that what happens with expat pilots doesn't happen with local. An expat complaining about contracts is just like an expat who complains about heat in Delhi or sweat in Bombay, plain immature. Of course it is possible that the local is more adapted to weather and legal environment, and may fare better than expat if a bad treatment is meted out.



First, expats are treated differently. That is a simple fact and something that expats have to get used to. However, telling me complaining about a contract is like complaining about the heat in Delhi is just an indication of your naiveté. The simple fact is the local pilots can take some action, just like they did at Jet. An expat can't do squat! If they do, they are asked to leave. Simple fact of life.

Secondly, the contracts that expats sign aren't worth anything. The local contracts are. The expats sign a contract with the agency, and they are actually employed by the agency. Most, if not all contracts, have wording to the effect that if the airline doesn't pay the agency, the agency doesn't pay the pilot. Now, imagine a pilot who is in the UK, what is it going to cost him to take the case to court in India? At some point, the expat has to cut his losses. Some decide to stay and hope for payment, while others cut their losses and just leave.

Finally, let's look at the income tax scam. I know of too many pilots who were supposed to have their income taxes paid by the airline employing them. Guess what? No one has a PAN card. Let's see that happen with a local pilot.

I could go on and on with examples of what I saw during my two short term stays in India. It would fill volumes and would not shine a very favourable light on things there. Prior to my short stays in India, I had been there on layovers. Things weren't a great surprise to me. But, I do think there are a great deal of expat who go to India without the knowledge of just how things are.