Congratulations Abyssinian Flight Training School

I am really happy to hear that the first pilots trained by Abyssinian Flight Training school graduated recently. This is a big accomplishment for the company company as well as for the our country. A year ago I was reading one of our local papers and learned that a lot of students are coming as far as from India to the city I am living (Winnipeg, Canada) to take pilot training. I said I wish there was a school in Ethiopia and do the same business instead the students come here as far as from India and spend a lot of money. I am happy to hear that there are people in my country who can do it. Keep up the good job. Below is an article that shows the potential of this market.



A mouthful of sky overseas



NEW DELHI: Outsourcing is now taking a different route. Flight training is moving overseas in a big way as the aviation boom creates a huge shortage of commercial pilots in the country.

In fact, with a large number of young Indians aspiring to become commercial pilots and lack of institutions offering these courses in India, various colleges and institutes from US, Canada and Australia are eyeing the market.

The demand for commercial pilot courses in India is so large that foreign institutes are even lining up tailor-made content compliant with the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) norms.

In the last couple of months, various institutes have held roadshows in India and are gearing up their courses towards Indian students. Flying schools in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and US have designed modules in compliance with DGCA norms which include the mandatory flying hours and cross country day and night checks.

Besides, US has recently relaxed student visa norms for pilot training, which had become strict after 9/11.

“With the aviation boom in India, young people have started taking the career of flying seriously. The starting salary is Rs 90,000 to Rs 3.5 lakh a month. On the other hand, foreign pilots make up to 500 pounds a day,” says Akshay Mohan, general manager and chief flight instructor, Kemper Aviation in Florida, US.

Mohan, who finished the professional pilot programme from Kemper and is now part owner of the institution, hopes that with better training, Indian pilots too would get better salaries.

Like Kemper, UK Flight Training, based in California, is targetting Indian students with DGCA-compliant courses. Such programmes start at around $27000. Like the US, Australian and Canadian institutes, too, are hardselling courses in India.

“In the last year we’ve seen a large increase in interest from India with students looking for good quality education at reasonable prices. In December 2005, we did several seminars around India.

We now have online courses allowing students to prepare before they arrive and shortening their stay in Canada. Courses are customized to the students needs and the DGCA requirements,” says Adam Penner, son of the owner of a high-profile flying club Harv’s Air in Manitoba.

Total training cost in Canada works out to approximately $35,000 Canadian dollars and takes 6-9 months to complete. Traditionally, Ontario (Toronto, Guelph, and Hamilton) Vancouver (British Columbia) and Winnipeg (Manitoba) have been the hubs for quality flight training and now Indian students are flocking to these states.

“Students should be careful about choosing good institutes since there are fly-by-night operators who might charge hefty fees upfront and then not deliver. Usually the 6-month courses cost about Rs 12 lakh and the regular student visa route is advisable when going abroad for pilot training,” feels Maaheer Master, who trained at Harv’s last year and has now joined Jet Air.

Mohan also warns students against being duped into paying hefty fees before the courses start. “Some people have made a business out of conning people by charging hefty fees,” he says.

Winnipeg Aviation from Manitoba, too, sees big growth in the Indian market. “India will require anything between 2,500 and 4,000 pilots to fill cockpits over the next 6 years. However, the flight school structure in India is such that they cannot accommodate this drastic growth.

We see a huge growth potential training Indian students,” says Dan Reeves, marketing manager and flying instructor at Winnipeg Aviation which has tied up with Cubex India, a company promoted by NRI Hemant M Shah.

Basair Aviation College and RMIT International of Australia, too, are hardselling their commercial pilot training courses to Indian students. Basair in Sydney, in fact, positions itself as a specialised institute for training Indian pilots.

source: Economic Times, India