NEED FOR HIRING HIGHLY SKILLED PILOTS

In light of the extensive demand for new pilots, high-quality training for Pilots plays a crucial and significant role in building wings of excellence. Merely relying on number of flight hours as a measure of competence does not capture the true capabilities of a pilot

- BYRON BOHLMAN

THE VOLUME OF ORDERS FOR NEW AIRCRAFT BY INDIAN carriers has been grabbing headlines for months – 492 from IndiGo and 470 for Air India alone. As if that wasn’t enough, IndiGo announced yet another order for 500 more A320 family airplanes at this year’s Paris Air Show. The move secured future positions on the burgeoning Airbus assembly line.

The more than 2,000 new aircraft that will join India’s airline fleets will need a small army of pilots, yet the supply of experienced personnel is limited. The need is critical after many retired during the pandemic or sought employment in other industries. The shortage is particularly acute in the USA where airlines are forced to park and accelerate the retirement of regional jets for lack of crew. Accordingly, United Airlines has indicated its mainline airplanes will start flying to some cities previously served by its regional partners.

SOURCING EXPERIENCE PILOTS

Historically, major carriers sourced new pilots with military and regional airline flying experience yet the numbers provided by these groups isn’t sufficient to meet the exceptional demand. Unlike the USA, India does not have a well-established regional airline industry from which it can tap into qualified talent eager to advance to a mainline career. Regional airlines themselves are competing for pilots and must pay lower salaries on their smaller-capacity jets and turboprops.

AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURER INVESTMENTS