Aviation India: Careers

Soaring through the skies is the stuff dreams are made of. But for the trainee pilots at the Bombay Flying Club, the skies are filled with ominous clouds, black with looming recession. But, if the young flyers feel an anxiety, they are not letting it show.
"Becoming a pilot has been my dream since I was a child," says Sneha Bhasarkar, pride evident in her voice. Although, according to her, fame and money were motivating factors when she opted to become a pilot, a sense of pride and responsibility also drew her to the profession. It's a plus that she also likes meeting new people and visiting new places, things intrinsic to the job.
Namita Chaurasia and Urmila Salvi are the other two women in Sneha's batch. Namita's family was always supportive of her choice of career, Urmila's, however, not so much. She worked part-time during her college and collected money for her pilot training.
Nishant Kadam, another aspiring pilot, comes from a middle-class family and has taken out an education loan so that he may realise his dream of flying.
But once the course is done, and all the exams have been cleared, getting a job in the current scenario might prove a tad difficult.
The fact that airlines in the country are hiring expatriate pilots on large salaries rankles with these youngsters, especially when so many Indian pilots are being sacked, or being forced to take pay cuts.
Flying officer, Chandra Kumar, chief instructor of the Club, remembers a time in the 1990s when there was a huge demand for expatriate pilots, due to the spurt in growth in the aviation industry. "But now," he says, "As the number of Indian pilots is also rising, they should be given a fair chance."
Kumar also feels that the retirement age for pilots, 65, is too high. "Earlier it was 58, then 62, and now, it is set at 65. If the retirement age is set at 58, many upcoming pilots will get a chance to fly," he says.
18/11/08 Vishakha Avachat/Daily News & Analysis