City-based SpeedJet Aviation has joined hands with Gulf Aviation Academy (GAA) of Bahrain to train pilots, cabin crew and other airline personnel as their demand in the domestic market was on the rise.
As part of the tie-up, SpeedJet Aviation, which offers training courses for cockpit and cabin crew and ground handling personnel, plans to churn out around 600 pilots by 2019, SpeedJet Aviation director Dharamraj Shukla told PTI.
Last year, SpeedJet Aviation trained over 100 pilots for various type of aircraft including Airbus A320, Boeing 737 and Embraer E170/190, besides churning out than 150 cabin crew, Shulka said.
The academy's range of training programmes includes pre-pilot training (12-15 months), type rating, cabin crew and ground handling.
Under the partnership with GAA, which is a part of Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, the investment arm of the Bahrain government, the Mumbai-headquartered academy would be sending its students, enrolled for pilot and cabin crew courses, for training sessions at GAA's state-of-the-art facility in the Gulf country, Shukla said.
"The aviation industry is on a high-growth trajectory with India likely to become the third-largest aviation market by 2020.
"As of now, Indian airlines are reporting increased profitability; low-cost carriers have placed heavy orders for new aircraft. All these factors combined will lead to a sharp spike in demand for trained aviation personnel," Shukla said.
Domestic aviation market has been posting more than 20 per cent growth for over a year on account of low fuel prices and low airfares.
The Sydney-based aviation think-tank Centre for Pacific Aviation (CAPA), in its recent report, has projected that there could be further orders for 250-300 aircraft in the pipeline from SpiceJet, Vistara and Premier Airways, in addition to the huge orders already placed by carriers like IndiGo, Jet Airways and GoAir.
The tie-up offers Indian students a competitive advantage in the aviation industry that is at par with international norms, according to SpeedJet Aviation.
This move is a first-of-its-kind for GAA in the Asian market to offer a comprehensive range of structured training programmes for all aviation personnel including pilots, cabin crew, engineers and ground staff, it said.
India being one of the largest and fastest growing air travel market provides great opportunities for individuals to pursue a career in the aviation sector, GAA's Chief Executive Officer Dhaffer Al Abbasi said.
"Our state-of-the-art course equipment enables us to offer a comprehensive and modern aviation training infrastructure, besides the students also get access to various training facilities around the world through our global affiliates," he said.
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