The government on Tuesday admitted an acute shortage of trained pilots in the aviation industry saying it is estimated that a total of 2,000 to 3,000 pilots would be required in the next two to three years to meet the…
IAF manages to curb exodus
New Delhi: The IAF policy to tighten screws on pilots scrambling to join the much-greener pastures in civilian airlines has had the desired effect: As compared to almost 300 pilots who left the force between 2002 and 2005, only about…
When flight schools fill up with foreign trainees, authorities get nervous
Ekansh Tyagi, an 18-year-old from New Delhi and two of his fellow flight school students at Windsor, Ont. found themselves answering pointed queries about why they had journeyed so close to the American border. “They asked me if I was…
Cleared for takeoff, but where’s the pilot?
Mumbai: Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had to fly to Nagpur for the winter session in a private aircraft as the state government aircraft did not have an official pilot. It still doesn’t. The only pilot, who turned 65 on November…
Fat expat pilot salaries upset carrier budgets
Indian carriers need pilots, preferably Indian ones. That’s because their expat counterparts carry a heavy price tag and airlines are feeling the pinch, reports CNBC-TV18.For a while Indian carriers were struggling to fill up seats. Now they’re desperate to fill…
Aviation management institute on the cards
New Delhi: The government is planning to set up an IIM-like institute exclusively for aviation management. An in-principle approval has been accorded to the proposal for setting up the first aerospace academy in India. The proposed academy will offer a…
More airforce pilots join private airlines
New Delhi: Thanks to fatter pay packets, added perks and higher retirement age offered by commercial carriers, an increasing number of airforce pilots are joining the party of private airlines. And why not, it’s hard to resist an offer where…
Private sector is luring away military officers
New Delhi: The lure of the private sector is leading to an increasing rise in the number of armed forces’ officers seeking premature discharge from the services. But faced with a shortage of officers, the Government has been reluctant to…
United Aviation to train SpiceJet pilots
New Delhi: Low cost carrier SpiceJet today said it has entered into an agreement with global pilot training firm United Aviation (UA) for its cadet pilot programme.As per the agreement, UA will select and train pilots under the SpiceJet Cadet…
Alliance to induct regional jets, pilots
New Delhi: Alliance Air is finally cruising forward on plans to turn itself into a low-cost airline. Alliance, the feeder airline subsidiary of Indian Airlines, has floated tenders to induct six regional jets that would operated under this new business…
The giant sucking sound that pilots love
We have written here about the giant sucking sound in India and China. The pilot vacuum in those countries is attracting pilots from as far away as Brazil. Now this – African governments have been challenged to find a way…
Asian countries to look for up to 1,000 captains each in the next five years
Demand for airline pilots in the United States traditionally has been concentrated in the major U.S. airlines, which hire about 60 percent of airline pilot, Kit Darby, president of Aviation Information Resources Inc. said. But some new avenues might be…