Bird Group will train pilots

New Delhi: After announcing its foray into the regional airline segment, the Bird Group is now all set to open an institute for training pilots. The Group, which has an annual turnover of Rs 200 crore, plans to start the operations by this year end and will take around 120 students in its first batch.
The Bird Group has zeroed in on Ludhiana as its base and will train the pilots on a single-engine aircraft. Already, companies such as Boeing, Airbus, Alteon and CAE have shown interest in opening up commercial pilot training centres in India. CAE has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a joint venture with the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to develop the National Flying Training Institute (NFTI).
It has also signed a memorandum of understanding to become the managing partner of the Indian government’s flight training academy — Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA).
19/08/07 Dheeraj Tiwari/Economic Times