Pilots are in demand again, as airlines struggle to find experienced crew

According to economic times, ‘’three major Indian airlines – market leader IndiGo, Tata backed Air India and India’s youngest airline Akasa Air -together plan to hire over 1,000 pilots this year. This would be the busiest year since 2018 when pilot hiring was at a rapid climb thanks to IndiGo’s fast-paced induction of its fleet”.

Air India is currently experiencing a shortage of pilots due to the massive expansion plans that the airline has recently undertaken. Last month, Air India placed an order for 540 aircraft, which is the largest ever jet order in modern aviation history. To support this expansion, Air India plans to induct over 90 aircraft in the next 18 months, but is currently facing an acute shortage of pilots, particularly for its Boeing 777 aircraft.

In response to this shortage, Air India is offering a monthly salary of $21,000 to hire expat commanders for its Boeing 777 aircraft. This high salary is being offered to attract experienced pilots from around the world to fill the shortage of pilots and ensure that Air India can continue to grow and expand its operations successfully.

For narrow body Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, the airline is looking at faster upgrades for first officers to commanders and is also depending on pilots from its sister companies Vistara and AirAsia which will be merged to form a single entity by 2024.

“The Tata group wants to stop the attrition and promised that lateral hiring will be minimized, and internal promotions will be encouraged” the pilot said.

“An IndiGo spokesperson said the airline plans to increase its strength by almost 6000 people including pilots in FY 24”.

“Late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala backed Akasa Air plans to add over 300 pilots as it is looking to place an order of over 150 Boeing 737 Max.

CEO Vinay Dube said the airline has 2,000 employees at present”.

Conclusion

In the conclusion all three airlines said that, “By the end of the next fiscal we will be close to 3,000 employees. We will be hiring 300 pilots in 12 months,” Dube stated. It will also hire cabin crew, engineers, and staff in airport operations.