Still
amongst the better-paid and more attractive jobs going, in popular
imagery the profession of a pilot has a special mystique attached to
it. So those who do succeed in realizing the almost universal childhood
dream of earning their wings are generally a pretty pleased lot.
Although the employment scenario has been tight in the last decade,
thanks to the waves of change sweeping the ‘civil aviation industry and
the entry of several new private and international airlines, more
aspirants may be able to realize this dream in the near future.
Aviation sector has opened avenues for Pilots, Co-Pilots, Aircraft
Maintenance Engineers, Cabin Crew, Technicians and Ground Duty Service
Officers. In 2003-04, India had only three domestic airlines with 123
commercial jets. But today, the scenario has changed.
If a person has a scientific bent of mind, he can opt for a career as a
Pilot, Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, etc. and if a person is good at
communication and interpersonal skills, she/he can consider a career as
an Air Hostess or a Flight Steward.
Commercial pilots are employed by national airlines like Indian
Airlines or Air India and by private airlines as well as by foreign
airlines. With the Asia Pacific region emerging as the pivot of the
world, the aviation industry in India is poised for takeoff. From a
mere 175 aircrafts in 2004, it is expected that by 2010 around 400 odd
aircrafts will zip across the Indian skies.
The aviation industry employs about 3000 pilots and there is an
immediate shortage of 450 planes that will be added to the activity
expanding Indian fleet in the next five years and a shortage of
additional 4,500 pilots stares us in the face (Total requirement: 7500
pilots by 2010)
Training to be a pilot can be a pretty expensive affair that can push
you into a financial air pocket! From April 2001 all DGCA-subsidized
rates have been discontinued. However, various states offer separate
subsidies of varying amounts up to the PPL stage. Considering the high
cost of aviation fuel, you have to pay the steep commercial rate, which
is in the region of Rs.2750-3500 per hour. 40 free flying scholarships
are awarded to SC/ST trainee pilots every year. Under this scheme,
apart from free flying training, student pilots receive financial aid.
While a private school may charge as much as Rs.15-20 lakh, the cost of
obtaining a CPL in a government-sponsored school works out to Rs.10
lakh plus boarding and lodging, which add up to another Rs.1, 500/-
p.m.
Salaries for commercial pilots are very attractive, ranging anywhere
from Rs.40, 000/- to whopping Rs.4 lakh p.m., depending on the airline.
Besides the obvious thrill of going places and seeing the world in
five-star comfort, there are several attractive perks that go with the
job.
Where to Look for Work:
Besides
Indian there are several private airlines like Jet Airways, Sahara, Air
Deccan, Kingfisher, currently expanding their fleet and range of
operations in India. There are several other international airlines
that operate through India like United Airlines, Air Canada, Virgin
Atlantic, Quantas, KLM, Lufthansa, United Airlines, Cathay Pacific,
British Airways, Thai Airways, Malaysian Airlines and China Airlines to
name a few.
You could start off as a trainee pilot on
smaller aircraft. Besides large corporate houses that own private
aircraft, there are about 40 aviation companies in the country that
rent out helicopters and small aircraft (for a fee of Rs.30,
000-Rs.1.30 lakh per hour + 15% air travel tax.)
Helicopter Pilots:
Hindustan
Aeronautics Ltd’s (HAL) Rotary Wing Academy at Bangaluru would be a
good bet. However in compliance with the flight-safety requirements
that are being followed worldwide, the DGCA has recently upped the
mandatory flying time from the present 100 hours to 150 hours before
the CHPL can be issued. So correspondingly, the earlier fee of Rs.10
lakh, which makes it rather steep. Also I’ve heard some rumblings about
the non-availability of training aircraft. But on the flip side, the
placements for helicopter pilots are far better than their CPL
counterparts.
Lest you think this is only a male
prerogative, remember Indian Airlines was the first to have a women
pilot (Durba Bannerjee) command the wide bodied Airbus 300 way back in
the early 60’s. Today it has scores of women Airbus pilots on its
rolls. The Indian Air Force has over 200.
Aptitude
There
are certain attributes to be a Pilot. First of all, one should not be
afraid of heights and should have a passion to fly those machines. One
should possess a good coordination of mind and limbs. The ability to
remain calm under any circumstance and apply theoretical knowledge into
practice while flying is very important.
A Pilot has to be
quick thinker as he is the one who is responsible for the lives of
many. One should have patience, commitment, responsibility and
self-confidence. A lot of hard work, stamina, adaptability to follow
difficult time schedules, good team spirit etc., are also required in
an aspirant. Most importantly, one must have emotional stability in
crisis situations.
Eligibility
To
get a CPL, one should have passed 10+2 examination with Physics and
Mathematics and must be between the age of 18-30 years. The minimum
height should be 5 feet and eyesight 6/6.
Air Hostess / Flight Steward
The
trouble free, comfortable and safe journey of a passenger is of prime
importance to the aviation sector. In this regard, it is an Air Hostess
/ Flight Steward whose role becomes really crucial as they are the
first one to welcome passengers aboard an aircraft.
Their
job also includes giving instructions to the passengers on how to use
safety measures during crisis, catering foods and drinks to the
passengers and answering passengers| inquiries on facilities and
services. They are supposed to provide First Aid to passengers who feel
sick.
By the count, the various airlines in the country have almost 10,207
Cabin Crew members in 2007-08 and the number is expected to grow to
almost 20,284 by 2011-12.
Aptitude:
To
be an Air Hostess or a Flight Steward, one should have common sense,
sense of responsibility, initiative quality, friendly outgoing
personality, politeness, physical stamina and the capacity to work for
long hours on the feet.
The ability to react quickly in
time of emergency, presence of mind, systematic approach, unruffled
appearance, a well-modulated pleasant voice and a proportionate figure
with a graceful carriage are the important traits required in an Air
hostess or a Flight Steward.
Eligibility
The
educational qualification for an Air Hostess / Flight Steward training
programme is 10+2 or a graduate degree with a diploma / degree in Hotel
Management or Tourism Management. The aspirant must be eligible to hold
an Indian Passport and should be below twenty-five years of age with
proportionate weight and height.
Further, one must be
unmarried, with normal eyesight of 6/6 increased vision in each eye.
Fluency in English, Hindi and knowledge of an international language is
an added advantage.
Selection Procedure
The
applicant should be physically fit with a pleasing personality and
clear complexion. After the initial screening of applicants is
completed, the airline company calls them for a written examination,
usually of the objective type (multiple choice).
Those who
qualify in the written examination have to appear for a group
discussion followed by a personal interview of successful candidates.
If selected, the applicant will be on training for two to three months
in which one can learn about service, grooming, safety and first aid,
after which one is initially put on trainee flights.
Flight Training
The flight training covers several topics, each of which deals with technical or nontechnical aspects of the aircraft.
Beginning with the history of aviation, the candidates are made to
learn in-flight service, passenger handling, passenger psychology,
service of meals on the aircraft, the art of conversation,
transactional analysis, emergency evacuation system, personal grooming
and hygiene, First Aid, confidence building, handling of visually
impaired passengers, making announcements, emergency demonstration, etc.
Prospects
There is a great demand for Air Hostesses/Flight Stewards in the Aviation sector.
Flight Purser
After
three to five years, depending upon your performance, Flight
Steward/Air Hostess is eligible to become a Flight Purser. Your
responsibilities increase as you take over the charge of the Cabin Crew
on board. Salaries generally get double up.
Ground Job:
You
can join here directly or after having served on the flight for long,
you can opt for ground jobs in sections like staff-training and human
resource management in the corporate office.
Remuneration
The
Cabin Crew can get up to Rs.40, 000 per month for domestic flights
whereas upto Rs.1, 50,000 for international flights on wide-bodied
aircrafts. The ground staff can also earn Rs.20, 000 - Rs.30, 000 per
month.
Aircraft Maintenance Engineer
The
Aircraft Maintenance Engineers play a stellar role in Aviation sector
as they are the ones who ensure that the aircraft is in a perfect
condition before take-off. An engineer needs to be completely focused
on safety as the casual attitude can pose a danger to the lives of
people on board.
The Aircraft Engineer has to certify the
aircraft fit for release. The job ensures the availability of safe
aircraft at the best possible cost. The Engineering and Maintenance
department of an airline performs scheduled and unscheduled tasks,
leading to restoration of the expected airworthiness.
The job includes diagnostic and mechanical duties covering maintenance,
repair, trouble shooting and overhaul, in addition to performing
inspection and modification on an aircraft.
Aptitude
An
Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, at times, has to work under stringent
conditions, tough deadlines and harsh weather in difficult locations.
To overcome all this, one should be logical, focused and have
perseverance.
Eligibility
The
basic and minimum qualification required to be an Aircraft Maintenance
Engineer is a Senior School Certificate with Mathematics, Chemistry and
Physics as main subjects. Candidates are required to undergo a 3-year
certificate course on aircraft maintenance engineering, conducted by
various training schools approved by the Director-General of Civil
Aviation.
Candidates also need to undergo structured
aircraft type courses in the mechanical or avionics stream and obtain
regulatory licences or approvals on a type of aircraft. Candidates need
an engineering degree for career in support services in technical
services, engineering planning quality assurance and logistics. Courses
on structured aircraft type maintenance are also desirable.
Other Jobs
Flight and Ground Instructors:
The
Flight Instructors give training to the Pilots on some systems and are
mainly with engineering background. On the other hand, the Ground
Instructors are from operations background.
Flight
Instructors are usually senior Pilots who are employed within the
airline. They usually perform line duties as they are not released due
to shortage of pilots.
Flight Despatchers :
Flight
Dispatchers| are those people who give a briefing to the Pilots before
a flight on the weather, flight path and optimising the flight.
Factor Facilitators :
The
Factor Facilitators give training to the cockpit and cabin crew on
resource management. They also undertake joint sessions of cabin crew,
engineers and cockpit crew on working together.
Aviation Psychologists :
The
Factor Facilitators give training to the cockpit and cabin crew on
resource management. They also undertake joint sessions of cabin crew,
engineers and cockpit crew on working together.
The
Aviation Psychologists assess the attitudes of the Pilots through
psychometric tests. They also guide the young cabin crew to overcome
the problems faced by them at their job.
Aviation Doctors:
The
Aviation Doctors conduct a rigorous medical check-up of the Pilots and
other employees as per the norms of Aviation Medicine and the Central
Medicine Establishment, both run by the Air Force. The airlines have to
look thir slots months’ in advance due to high rush of employees from
different airlines.
The white-collar jobs on the ground,
airport and custom services-people who do check-in, ticketing, etc.,
are also on the rise. After acquiring Air Sahara, Jet Airways has
11,000 people as its employees whereas Sahara (renamed JetLite) has
4,000 people.
Prospects:
With
the privatisation and foreign collaboration increasing everyday, the
future is very bright in Aviation sector. Most airline offices are
looking to increasing their fleet and this itself is opening avenues
for the aspirants.
