Indian airlines may hire fewer pilots in 2020 compared to last year

Indian carriers are expected to hire fewer pilots in 2020 compared to the previous year.
 
This is due to delivery delays from Airbus, uncertainty surrounding Boeing 737 Max’s return to service and a reserve of Jet Airways pilots currently in training.
 
In 2019, Indian carriers hired 2,301 pilots, many of them from Jet Airways which shut down in April. In 2018 and 2017, airlines had hired 1,696 and 1,221 pilots, respectively, through examinations.
 
“Indian carriers will have sufficient local pilots for Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft in 2020 but would continue to rely on expatriate captains for smaller turboprop planes like ATR-72 and Q-400s,” said director general of civil aviation (DGCA) Arun Kumar.
 
The DGCA is issuing 700-800 commercial pilot licences each year to fresh cadets, as well as Indian Air Force personnel, among others. It is strengthening flying training schools, he said. “Pilot availability is not an issue,” added Kumar.
 
Last week, GoAir left hundreds of holidaygoers in the lurch as it canceled nearly 20 flights a day due to non-availability of pilots for those days. GoAir said while there was no shortage of pilots, it blamed external factors like inclement weather, which resulted in diversions, for schedule disruptions.
 
Sources say the airline is strengthening its crew roster team which has seen resignations and reshuffles in past.
 
Domestic airlines reaped a windfall following the closure of Jet Airways in April as it made available slots at busy airports, overseas traffic rights and trained pilots.
 
Domestic and foreign airlines have hired most of the 1,600 pilots who worked with Jet and only about 300 are still said to be on its rolls.
 
Pilot appointment, however, cannot be equated with pilot availability. Jet Airways largely flew Boeing 737s apart from wide bodies and turboprops while AirAsia, GoAir, IndiGo and Vistara operate the A320 type planes. It takes seven-eight months for a pilot to convert from one type of aircraft to another (Boeing 737 to Airbus A320) and the process includes ground training, simulator course and flying under supervision of an instructor.
 
Aviation experts say changes in DGCA regulations on pilot training and quicker issuance of airport entry passes will improve utilisation of domestic and foreign pilots.
 
“DGCA should allow examiners (senior captains) from approved flight simulators to conduct examinations. This will lighten the load on airline examiners, improve pilot availability and result in cost reduction for airlines,” said aviation consultant Vishok Mansingh.
 
Currently, DGCA norms do not allow for certification of an airline pilot by external examiners. Sources said DGCA has made an exception this year and allowed examiners from a West Asian airline to certify simulator checks of Airbus A320 pilots from India.
 
There are other operational challenges, too, which impact schedules. For instance, a Boeing 737 captain trained to operate in low visibility conditions in Delhi in winter would require 400 hours of flying experience on an Airbus A320 plane to be eligible to operate the plane in foggy conditions. Rostering teams have to factor such conditions also while preparing duty schedule.
 
Airlines, on their part, say they are well prepared to meet pilot requirements in the next year and have sufficient captains for the current requirement.
 
“We hired 136 pilots from Jet Airways and have adequate number of pilots to meet our present requirements. We’re fully on track for our planned fleet expansion to 40 aircraft by end 2020,” said Captain Manish Uppal, head of operations, AirAsia India.
 
“Our hiring is going as per plan. At Vistara, our priority is to build an internal pipeline of flight crew and become self sufficient for the long term,” said an airline spokesperson. Vistara will have a fleet of 50 planes by the end of 2020.

The country’s largest airline, IndiGo hired 1,088 pilots in 2019. In the previous two years, it had hired 1,203 pilots.
SpiceJet and AirAsia India recruited 398 and 246 pilots in 2019, respectively.

A source said IndiGo has strength of over 150 commanders under training who are yet to be released for regular flying duties. Additionally, it upgrades around 300 first officers each year and would be able to meet its pilot requirements this year. IndiGo will continue to recruit more pilots but will not be aggressive in its hiring, the source said. Recruitment of first officers in IndiGo has slowed down due to aircraft delivery delays.

A SpiceJet executive said it has adequate pilots for its current schedule. Thirteen of its Boeing 737 Max aircraft are out of service due to regulatory ban and the airline’s pilot requirement in the coming months will depend on how soon the Boeing 737 returns to service.

GoAir, IndiGo and SpiceJet did not respond to email queries.