Foreign airlines give wings to Indian crew

India is currently on the map of most international airlines. One happy fallout of this is that Indian cabin crew is being sought after by them in greater numbers as they increase flights to what they see as a strategic market.
Aviation academies confirm that it’s India Calling for foreign airlines. “HR heads of Emirates, Qatar, Etihad Airways and Oman Air have been making several trips to India in recent times to scout for talent,” says Sapna Gupta, director, Air Hostess Academy. “Most Gulf airlines have been on an expansion spree in recent times, adding new aircraft and increasing services to India. Consequently, vacancies too have increased.”
And this expansion is despite skyrocketing oil prices.
Rakesh Agarwal, MD, Frankfinn Institute of Air Hostess Training, says Gulf airlines are the main recruiters of Indian cabin crew.
Of course, it also works out cheaper. “Cost factor is one of the reasons we employ Indians,” agrees a source from a foreign airline, who didn’t want to be named. Housam Raydan, corporate communications manager, Air Arabia, says Indian cabin crew forms around 21% of his airline and more will be recruited.
Even Qatar Airways, says Naveen Chawla, regional manager, India, has the largest percentage of cabin crew from India — over 20%.
For top-notch airlines such as Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa too, there’s nothing airy-fairy about recruiting more Indians.
Singapore Airlines confirms recruitment of more Indian cabin crew in the last two years.
And to give that authentic Indian touch, airlines either recruit directly or have tie-ups with aviation academies. The general height requirement for girls is 5’2″ and 5’7″ for boys. The minimum age asked by most Gulf carriers is 21 as employment visas are issued only then.
Gulf carriers also prefer trainees who can work for a longer duration there, as they invest a lot in them.
Also, with some domestic airlines on the verge of going international, there’s scope to fly abroad while being based in India. Starting salaries in domestic airlines vary between Rs 20,000-40,000; in international airlines, it’s between Rs 50,000-1.2 lakh, says Agarwal.
Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa recruit directly through ads. Short-listing is done by teams from these countries and depends on fleet size. They train cabin crew in their respective countries where standards are stringent and facilities, world-class.
13/07/08 Shobha John/Times of india