Pilots turn younger, pockets get deeper

New Delhi: Owing to the shortage of pilots in the country and high salary offered, the aviation industry in India has witnessed an increase in the number of young pilots. About three years back, the average age of pilots at the entry level was around 23 years as compared to 20 years now and it will continue falling, say industry heads.
The minimum eligibility for CPL (commercial pilot licence) is 17 years and the average duration of course in India is two years. The average salary of an entry level pilot is Rs 1.5 lakh. According to DGCA, the average age of candidates in the last commercial pilot license (CPL) exam in October 2006 for was 19-20 years. Six months back, the flying hours required to attain a CPL were reduced from 250 to 200 by DGCA .Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi’s (IGRUA) youngest student is just 17 years old. Currently, about 500 pilots are needed per year, whereas only 200 pilots are being trained every year in India. There are 39 flying training schools in India.
Many young aspirants fly overseas for training. The average duration of course is around 6-9 months abroad as compared to around two years in India. Though there are some private institutes with foreign tie-ups where the course duration is around one year.
With young minds at their service, airlines are not complaining. “It’s easy to train and mould them. Youngsters also adapt themselves easily,” says Harpreet A De Singh, deputy general manager, training operations, Air India. “We have seen an increase in the number of young pilots, especially women. Around 7% of our pilots are women as compared to 1% last year,” says a SpiceJet official.
05/01/07 Vishakha Talreja/Economic Times