VOLATILE GLAMOUR
The declining prospects of employment in the airline industry are reflected in the 30 per cent drop in the issue of CPLS in 2010 to 1,282 and to 855 in 2011. How the recently approved foreign direct investment by foreign carriers will alleviate the plight
THE YEAR 2005 SEEMED
surreal for civil aviation. Air Deccan's success inspired new airlines to sprout and grab market share in low-cost air travel. GoAir, SpiceJet, Paramount and Kingfisher Airlines commenced operations in 2005, the first two focused on the low-cost segment. Others to emerge were IndiGo, Air One, Jagson Airlines, Magic Air, Yamuna Air, Kerala Airways and Indus Airways. In 2005, IndiGo placed an order for 100 Airbus A320 aircraft, then the largest, startling the global airline industry. In the same year, Kingfisher ordered 20 ATR72-500 and 30 Airbus A320 and became the first Indian carrier to order the Airbus A380. Jet Airways purchased 20 Boeing737-800 with an option for 10 more. Air India ordered 68 Boeing aircraft in 2005 and Indian ordered 43 Airbus aircraft in 2006. The airline industry was surely booming. Or so it seemed.
With ten pilots per aircraft required for scheduled operations, the impending shortage of pilots vis-à-vis planned inductions was evident. Flight schools mushroomed around the country to exploit the opportunity. However, owing to limited capacity , high cost and uncertain time-frame for the award of commercial pilot licence (CPL), Indian youth aspiring to be airline pilots, opted for training abroad at lower cost and within defined timeframe. Tragically, a vast majority of students suffered due to lack of guidance, unscrupulous marketing by flight schools, rising costs, poor airline management and archaic policies, altogether made things difficult for CPL holders.
PILOTS GALORE.
When Jet Airways and Air Sahara were the only major private airlines, flying training entailed huge investment but offered little opportunity. The 40 pilots graduating every two years from the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy (IGRUA), were picked up by the national carriers. The emergence of new carriers had a profound impact on civil aviation training. Data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for the period 2004 to 2009 indicates a spike in the number of CPLs issued. Beginning with 283 in 2004, the number grew to 404 in 2005, 947 in 2007 and 1,792 in 2009. In all, 4,830 CPLs and 1,105 airline transport pilot licence (ATPL) were issued between 2005 and 2009, a number sufficient to fly 593 airplanes.
THE INDUSTRY IN TURMOIL.
Unfortunately, the airplanes never arrived as projected, some airlines never took off, some merged and few shut shop. Competition amongst the surviving airlines heightened depressing airfares that bled airlines. Kingfisher never reported profit. Merger was seen as the only way out for loss-making carriers. In 2007, Jet Airways acquired Air Sahara and Kingfisher took over Air Deccan. In May 2010, IndiGo came into the spotlight and Paramount Airways ceased operations while Kingfisher's plight worsened post-merger and today is in complete shambles.
In 2008, Jet Airways and Kingfisher were each reportedly losing up to 10 crore daily. In October that year, the two airlines announced an alliance that was to foster a symbiotic relationship