Flying schools grounded by downturn

New Delhi: The downturn in the aviation sector has led to significantly lower demand for pilots. This has adversely affected the businesses of more than 50 flying training schools, which had come up during the last two years on the back of an unprecendented growth story. Admissions to these institutes have now hit an all-time low.
Mamta Kota, director, Flytech Aviation Academy, Hyderabad, says: “It is a cyclical trend. There was a similar trend after 1998 which lasted up to 2000, when aviation was on a downturn.”
Flytech imparts an 18-month course in flying training and conducts admissions twice a year. Kota said that admissions this July have been at least 50 per cent lower than in July 2007. Flying school agents who have tie-ups with foreign schools also have similar numbers to narrate.
Anand Mishra, chairman, Griffin Aviation India, says: “Last year, we sent 20-25 students every month. Now we are happy to get even one.” The institute has a tie-up with the Griffin Flying School in the Philippines.
“We used to charge around Rs 14.5 lakh for a full course. Of this, our commission was around Rs 50,000. We have had to slash this to around Rs 20,000 now,” says Mishra.
Airlines maintain that pilot recruitment is low as capacity deployment is low. Sandeep Chalke, human resources head, Jet Airways, says: “We recruited our last batch of 40 officers in May. Last year, we recruited around 20 pilots per month. Now, we recruit every three or four months.”
Jet Airways received 600 applications this May, for 40 vacancies. In 2006, the airline had received 30 applications in all.
Jobless pilots are taking up jobs as flying instructors. They want to gain experience by teaching in a flying school before there is an upswing and they can apply for jobs again. The instructors have begun to offer their services relatively cheaply, a major change from last year, when salaries were almost on a par with airline pilots.
01/10/08 Anirban Chowdhury/Business Standard