Pilot shortage stares Air India in the face

Airline may tie up with Boeing for local training facility or send recruits abroad for training

BY A CORRESPONDENT
April 20, 2006

Air India is mulling over several options to offer pilot training for new recruits. It will either tie up with a foreign partner like Boeing to start a pilot training center in India or send its selected candidates abroad for flight training.

At a press conference in Chennai, Air India chairman V Thulasidas admitted that Air India is facing a problem with training staff. Though Air India has an in-house training academy, it won't be enough to fill the huge demand for pilots as its starts taking delivery of its new Boeing aircraft. The new Boeings will start flying in by November of this year. The first long-rage planes are expected to land by early 2007.

The Air India CMD admitted that aircraft shortage is a constraint in opening new routes. He said that even leased aircraft are hard to come by. Air India is expected to face capacity constraints till mid-2007.

Once the new aircraft join the Air India fleet, the airline is expected to devote a lot of attention to the US market, which is expected to be major revenue earner for the airline.