After aircraft purchase, Indian now hunts for pilots

The airline, having a fleet of around 70 aircraft, is going to sign a formal purchase agreement with Airbus Industries this month to acquire another 43 Airbus aircraft for a consideration of Rs 9,888 crore.

Indian, which sees international destinations as a lucrative market, is planning to start services to destinations in US and Europe after it gets delivery of the new aircraft. The airline already operates flights to Gulf.

The airline currently has 570 pilots on its payrolls and is looking to expand this number with additional aircraft coming in. It is looking out for senior trainee pilots with A-320 endorsements and senior trainee pilot with jet endorsement and 500 hours of airline jet experience who would be further trained by the airline.

The Indian aviation industry, which has grown exponentially over the last few years, is facing a huge pilot shortage. Analysts foresee a requirement of nearly 2000-2500 pilots in in the next five years.

Meanwhile, the airline which had floated tenders for acquiring Airbus A-330s, A-340s, a-310-300s, Boeing B-767 (extended range) version and B-777s, on lease has got a couple of expression of interest.