2010 Pilot Hiring News In India Is Mostly Positive

Aug. 26, 2010 - PRLog -- Ormond Beach, Florida. In a big turnaround from the past couple of years, almost all the news about pilot hiring in India in 2010 has been positive at least if you are an Indian citizen.  With several thousand Indian pilots having trained to be commercial pilots over the past several years and waiting for those jobs, this is very welcome news.  Perhaps the worst news is for expat pilots (mostly Captains) who have been flying for the Indian airlines.  But even that is partially positive as the date for the removal of all expat pilots from the Indian airlines was delayed until July 2011.

Here is a list of some of the positive news in India regarding airline and other pilot hiring so far in 2010:

• Boeing India increased their estimate of airline purchases in India by more than 10% for the next 20 year period.  Their forecast for airline growth implies that nearly 1000 pilots will be needed over that period each year to meet just the demand created by the expansion.  Currently there are less than 400 airliners in India so this growth is huge.  They estimate the purchases for new airliners will be 1150 aircraft over that period.

• Spice Jet has recently placed an order for 30 more B737s.  This order will be added to the 7 additional aircraft already scheduled for delivery over the next 2 years.  These orders alone mean that Spice jet will need 500 more pilots in the near term.

• Low Cost Carriers (of which Spice Jet is one - others include IndiGo and GoAir) are forecasted to nearly double their fleet size in less than 2 years.  By adding 50 more aircraft, this market segment will require at least 700 more pilots over that period.  IndiGo alone has announced that they will hire more than 100 pilots this year.

• By July 2011, the airlines in India must remove all the expat pilots.  This will open 400 slots for Indian pilots.  This will happen just as you finish your DGCA exams!

• Kingfisher Airlines announced this month (August) that they have an immediate need for pilots.

• The Indian Coast Guard is expanding and needs pilots.

• Jet Airways has recently recalled furloughed employees.  Hiring for pilots there is expected to resume soon.

• Air India and Air India Express both announced this year that they are hiring pilots.

• All the airlines in India appear to be hiring this year in contrast to the past several years.

• India only has 90 airports.  Most projections indicate a need to increase that number to 400 to meet the needs of the citizens.  Many people believe that the Boeing and Airbus predictions for growth are conservative.  All the major airports are involved in large expansion plans.

The pilot hiring news in 2010 is good news for flight training schools like Sunrise Aviation in Ormond Beach, Florida.  Sunrise Aviation has been training pilots from India for over 6 years, but recently those numbers have decreased due to the reduction in jobs for commercial or airline pilots in India.  But the cycle has reversed and enrollments of Indian students at USA flight schools is expected to increase substantially during the rest of 2010 and beyond.

Sunrise Aviation, a flight training school in Central Florida, has enrolled students from all over the world since they opened in 1983.  Currently, Sunrise Aviation has students from France, Spain, Brazil, Colombia, Bahamas, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, UAE, Bahrain, and Tanzania in addition to the students from India.  Of course, pilot training for students from the USA also continues there.

Sunrise Aviation in Florida provides complete training for professional pilots but also does private pilot, instrument rating, multi-engine and flight instructor training on an individual course basis.  For more information, prospective students may contact the school at: info@flysunriseaviation.com
or call:
+1-386-677-5724.  

The Sunrise Aviation website which was expanded in 2009 contains a lot of information for new students and can be found at:
http://www.flysunrise.com.

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Flight training for professional pilots. Private pilot, commercial pilot, instrument rating, multi-engine rating and flight instructor. Aircraft rental. Full-service FBO with fuel and maintenance available.