Have licence? Come and fly our planes

Mumbai: Facing an acute shortage of pilots, Jet Airways is forced to hire foreigners, even as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has set a new deadline of July 2011 for all airlines to phase out foreign pilots. Airline sources say pilot shortage in Jet Airways has become serious to such an extent that flights are being delayed because of that, a claim vehemently denied by the Jet Airways management.
wo years ago, when the aviation sector was reeling under a downturn, Jet Airways put all its expansion on hold. Nearly 20 per cent of flights were cut. Command training of first officers too was stopped. But once the worst of recession got over, the airline began adding new routes and acquiring new planes. It has recently acquired a Boeing 737 and the process is on to induct more aircraft. And hence, the shortage of trained pilots.
A Jet Airways commander said, “Pilots are being pulled out from ground training or simulator courses. Leaves are being curtailed and pilots are being asked to operate flights at a short notice. Flights are being delayed.”
The shortage of commanders is on Boeing 737s which flies on domestic routes and Gulf and Airbus 330 which flies international sectors.
An airline source said, “On certain occasions, pilots have been asked to operate an additional flight after landing at the destination. At times, pilots have a rest period of just two or three hours between two assigned flights but because of shortage, they have flown on an another sector in that period.”
Typically, a command training of first officer, which includes training on simulators and route checks (proficiency check), takes six months. It is learnt that Jet Airways has shortlisted around ten first officers for command training and they will be shortly sent for simulator training to Dubai and Bangalore.
12/06/10 Aneesh Phadnis/Mumbai Mirror