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Air India Flying School: Air India is going to start a flying school at Amravati in Maharashtra. This flying school is expected to train 180 pilots every year. Although the school will initially cater to internal needs, the Tata Group, which owns the airline, also sees the possibility of catering to external needs in the future.
As per an ET report, aspiring pilots who have no prior flying experience will be able to join this full-time academy. This will also pave the way for entering Air India's cockpit after completing the training program. The report quoted a source as saying that Air India wants to control the supply of next-generation pilots. The airline wants to improve the quality of training in the country.
According to reports, Air India has selected around 30 single-engine and 4 multi-engine aircraft from American company Piper and European manufacturer Diamond for its training fleet.
The Government of India has been very active in promoting the commercial pilot training program in the country and continues to promote it. Since there was no such training school in India earlier, currently more than 40% of students have to undergo training abroad, which can cost around Rs 1.5-2 crores. But once the flying school starts in the country, the students will be able to get training at a low cost and they will not be forced to go abroad.
Training center opened in Gurugram:
Meanwhile, the airline has set up its own training center in Gurugram in partnership with Airbus and American company L3 Harris, which has 6 simulators. Similarly, other airlines such as IndiGo and SpiceJet also have branded training programs affiliated with independent flying schools in India and abroad.
Aspiring pilots must undergo initial training to obtain a license, but aircraft such as the Airbus A320 or Boeing 737 also require type-rated training as well as the required license endorsement. In addition, pilots are required to undergo annual recurrent training to maintain license support.
Demand for pilots will increase:
Since the Tata Group's acquisition of Air India, the airline has ordered 470 aircraft and CEO Campbell Wilson has said it will introduce a new aircraft every 6 days in 2024. The domestic demand will be met first by the pilots graduating from this flying school started by the Tata Group. In future it will be used to meet external needs.
The recent large aircraft orders placed by Indian airlines will increase the demand for flight simulation centers as airlines rush to train their pilots. IndiGo, Air India and Akasa have together ordered around 1,250 aircraft for delivery over the next ten years. With the increase in the number of aircraft in the country, the demand for pilot and flight training centers will also increase.