Even while 37 applications for setting up flying academies are pending for government clearance, the inexpensive fees of commercial pilot training courses in the US, South-east Asia and Australia, compared to India, are forcing aspiring pilots to go abroad.
While the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uraan Academy -- an autonomous flying institute under the central government -- charges around Rs 19 lakh for its training course for a commercial pilot license, a flying institute in the US charges around Rs 16 lakh for the same course.
What is more, the training period in the US academies is six months, while it can take up to two and a half years in India. According to norms laid down by the director-general of civil aviation, one can get a license only after completing 200 hours of flying.
Even South-east Asia works out cheaper than India. Malaysian flying academies offer courses that take about a year but cost between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 12 lakh. The Philippines, which is one of the cheapest countries in the world for getting a pilot's license, charges Rs 9-10 lakh.
Australia offers a range of academies giving training for Rs 16-18 lakh.
Little wonder, aspiring Indian pilots are winging their way to overseas pilot schools in large numbers. According to industry estimates, more than 60 per cent of the Indian pilots inducted in the past one year have been from foreign flying institutes.
And this trend is expected to continue for at least three years. With large growth in the aviation sector, there is a need for over 1,000 commercial pilots per year for the next five years.
However, while there are 42 training institutes in the country, of which only 25 are operational (14 are state-operated and 11 are run by private entrepreneurs), they have the capacity to churn out 300- 400 pilots annually, leaving a yawning gap of 600-700 pilots.
The private flying schools in India charge about Rs 16 lakh, which is at par with what is charged in the US.
But most of them do not offer multi-engine aircraft training, unlike in foreign academies. This training is necessary to get entry into any premier airline company in the country or the globe.
State-owned flying institutes charge a little lower, in the range of Rs 10 lakh. But most of them have such limited facilities that a student takes around three years to finish his course and still gets very limited flying experience.
"Students in state-owned flying institutes get around 20 hours of flying in 10 months. We got 200 hours of flying in five months," said a pilot of a leading airline who got his training from a US academy.
Says Arun Lohiya, deputy chief executive, Ahmedabad Aviation and Aeronautics Ltd, one of the largest private flying schools in the country: "The higher charges in India can be attributed to three heads -- higher aviation fuel costs, higher maintenance costs and instructors charging exorbitant fees."
On average, an instructor in a flying school charges around Rs 3 lakh per month.
"The institute has to pay him that much, or he can easily join an airline as a pilot where he would get a salary of a much range," adds Lohiya.
Also, no flying school in India has simulator training for aircraft like the A320 and the Boeing 737. Only the airlines have their own simulators for the family of aircraft used in their fleet.
"A pilot, therefore, has to undergo further simulator training of around five months, for which an amount is deducted from his salary or he has to sign a bond for 5-6 years. Institutes abroad have their own simulators and can provide training for such family of passenger aircraft," says Jagat Bedi, a passout of the Branson Flying Academy, Canada.
