Young People Taking To The Skies

As Aero-News reported last week, the law of supply and demand is at work in India... a country struggling to find pilots to fly its ever-expanding fleet of airliners. But instead of looking outside the country for new recruits, some India airlines say native twenty-somethings are answering the call, and flocking to flight training programs.

It isn't hard to see why. Pilot compensation packages are increasing... with the average monthly salary for an entry-level pilot at Rs 1.5 lakh, or about $3,000.

Just three years ago the average entry level pilot was 23 years old, compared to today's 20 year old. And that figure will continue to fall, according to industry experts.

The minimum eligibility for a commercial pilot license (CPL) is 17 years. A CPL course in India is about two years; six months ago, flying hours required to attain a CPL were reduced from 250 to 200, subsequently reducing the course time.

According to India's Directorate Council of Civil Aviation, the average age of students in the October 2006 Commercial Pilot License exam was 19-20 years old.

"Demand for pilots has increased in the last five years as the industry is expanding," said a ground instructor with Indira Ghandi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA). The average age of IGRUA students is 18-20, with its youngest only 17 years old.

About 500 pilots are needed per year whereas only 200 pilots are being trained every year in India. There are 39 flying training schools in India.

Many young hopefuls receive their training overseas, where the average course is about six to nine months, as compared to two years in India. There are some local private institutes, however, with international relationships, that provide a one year CPL course, reported the India Times.

Lateral entry from the air force continues, with many opting for it as a second career.

"However, owing to surge in job opportunities, many youngsters are entering the field just after 10+2 (in the Indian educational system)," said Akhileshwar Prasad, director of the Griffin Aviation Academy. Of its 31 students, 20 are below 20 years of age.

Airlines are not complaining. "It's easy to train and mould them. Youngsters adapt themselves easily," said Harpreet A De Singh, deputy GM, training operations for Air-India, where the training period is six months.

"We have seen an increase in the number of young pilots, especially women. Around seven percent of our pilots are women, as compared to one percent last year," said a SpiceJet official.

Commercial cockpit occupants will become even younger as these copilots complete 2,500 hours of log-in time required to become a commander. Young pilots also have the opportunity of flying with private carriers.

With the average age of first-level pilots now at 20, the Indian aviation industry will have commanders under 25 in the next few years," says Kapil Kaul, India CEO of Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

FMI: www.airindia.com, http://dgca.nic.in, http://igrua.gov.in