Mumbai: Pearl Verma’s dreams of flying, aptly enough, are sending her far away from India, where a commercial’s pilot’s licence can be hers within 6-12 months, compared with the two years it takes here.
“I would rather train abroad,” says the 17-year-old.
Verma has narrowed her choices to the Sydney Flight Training Centre in Australia or Pan Am International Flight Academy in Florida, a survivor from Pan American Airlines.
Hundreds of aspiring pilots, including Verma, are looking beyond India’s borders for their training. Not too long ago, they chose to stay closer to home, where flight academies were substantially cheaper than those abroad. Against an aviation boom and intense demand for pilot’s licences, that has changed.
Now, several academies overseas boast special sections on their websites to attract Indian students, while others are partnering with Indian schools.
But while students are turning to overseas options because they hope to get their training and licence quicker, they find themselves in for a long wait upon their return: exams to convert their foreign licences into Indian commercial licences are held only every three months. And regulations demand that conversions be done within six months—meaning, if students don’t pass, they likely have to leave again for training.
Flight path: Indian flying schools such as Chennai’s Sunsea Aviation Services do not offer a cost advantage anymore. (RA Chandroo./ Mint )
According to the Federation of Indian Airlines, or FIA, a lobbying body of domestic carriers, the unmet demand for pilots in the Indian aviation industry is at more than 4,500. To cope with the shortfall, many airlines have hired foreigners to fly their planes.
“There is acute shortage of experienced pilots in India. The existing training facilities are inadequate to create the required number of pilots, leading to dependence upon foreign pilots,” says Vasudevan Thulasidas, chairman and managing director of National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, or Nacil, that runs Air India and Indian. “Since students are going to the US and other international destinations for training, the shortage of first officers are getting under control now,” he adds.
Earlier, Indian flying schools had a cost advantage, with courses here costing about Rs6 lakh less than similar courses overseas, says G. Chandrasekaran, chief of operations at Sunsea Aviation Services Pvt. Ltd. But now that benefit no longer exists. “Students can get a commercial pilot licence by spending just as much overseas, so obviously you find an increasing preference to enroll at flying schools in other countries,” he says.
Today, aviation courses in India can cost anywhere between Rs10 lakh and Rs18 lakh, while a similar course in the US could cost Rs18 lakh (about $45,000).