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Low cost carrier AirAsia plans to start its India operations in September with two aircraft.
AirAsia India, a joint venture between AirAsia, Tata Sons and Telstra Tradeplace, kicked off the hiring process for cabin crew at Chennai today. The airline plans to hire about 100 cabin crew.
AirAsia’s COO Bo Lingam, who is leading a 14-member team in Chennai to hire candidates, said, “The way things are going, it looks like in September we will be launching our operations, provided we get all the regulatory approvals.”
He added that there is scope for more airlines to enter the aviation industry, considering the population is high.
The airline’s promoter Tony Fernandes is expected to visit India in June, added Lingam.
It may be noted that AirAsia is the first overseas airline to form a joint venture in India after the government changed the foreign direct investment policy to attract foreign participation.
The airline, which started walk-in interview at 9 AM today, screened over 3,500 candidates. Suhaila Hassan, Air Asia’s group head of flight attendants, said she was impressed with the profile of candidates.
The two-day interview being held at Chennai is the biggest in the history of AirAsia, said a company official.
Each aircraft will have four attendants and a total of 20 people would be required per aircraft, she said.
The selected candidates will go through a 42-day in-house training in Malaysia, said Rajkumar Paranthaman, marketing manager - India, AirAsia. He added at AirAsia’s attrition level is one of the least in the industry, at 1.5 per cent.
