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11.8.10

Pilots rudderless after Air India flip-flop

A flip-flop by the government owned National Aviation Company India Limited (NACIL) has left many aspiring pilots disappointed. NACIL, which owns Air India (AI), had invited applications for recruiting 40 type-rated copilots to fly the Boeing-737s only to cancel the same after a few days.

The company has now posted a terse letter on Air India website saying the advertisement had been cancelled and hence no cognisance shall be taken of the applications received against it. No reason for the move has been specified as such. There was no reply to an email sent to company’s spokesperson by TOI for two days. The advertisement is learnt to be part of a fresh recruitment process started by Air India’s CMD Arvind Jadhav who took over from Raghu Menon. Jadhav had struck down the earlier process following charges of bias. The main contention was that selected candidates happened to be related to senior officers of AI. A fresh advertisement was posted later. NACIL also seems to be sitting on a Right To Information (RTI) query by an indidividual from city about the same process. Ashok Khare had inquired if the pilots whose recruitment was cancelled on charges of bias had again been absorbed instead of starting the process afresh. The RTI application was sent in mid-April this year. The applicants say this had put them in a fix and many have spent huge sums to get type-rated, which means getting specialised training to fly a particular type of aircraft.

“Since the advertisement was for typerated pilots, the candidates first had to undertake the training available in Germany before applying. Even though some returned on learning about cancellation of advertisement, others have begun training and their money cannot be refunded. The fees range up to Rs 20 lakh,” said an applicant on condition of anonymity.

Those who complete the training will have to hope either AI or other lines require Boeing 737 pilots within six months, the period for which the type-rating certificate remains valid, he added. “I was about to leave for training but came to know about the cancellation and changed my plans,” said a candidate.

Pilot training these days costs astronomical sums. Getting a commercial pilots licence after getting trained in a multi-engine aircraft itself takes over Rs 20 lakh. A similar amount has to be spent on type-rating training. Earlier the airlines would fund type-rating training but post-recession candidates have to pay themselves. Air India website still has an advertisement for recruiting pilots for Boeing 777 aircraft. Candidates say it is entirely different type of aircraft and needed separate type-rating training. They need to spend another Rs 20 lakh if they want to get typerated for this aircraft.
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