Major Indian airline looking to hire expatriate pilots

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IndiGo, India’s largest carrier, is now planning to hire a further 100 expat pilots to plug a shortage which has resulted in many flight cancellations over the past few months. The move is intended to maintain existing schedules, but will cost the company as a result. At present, the airline has over 200 aircraft, some 3,000 pilots, 50 of whom are expatriates and 1,200 commanders, The new hires will treble the numbers of foreign pilots and should put an end to service disruptions.

Over the past weeks, schedule interruptions have taken place, due not only to pilot shortages but also because of bad weather in Delhi and partial shutdowns at Mumbai’s main airport. Last Wednesday, some 49 flights were cancelled, with a further 30 of its 1,300 daily flights due to be cancelled. The situation is hurting not only the airline’s pockets, it’s also wrecking its reputation as India’s largest carrier. The new hirings are expected to increase staff costs at a time when the airline is attempting to cut down on non-fuel expenses, an aim which isn’t having much success to date.

Pilots earn a basic wage of $13,000, with expat flyers commanding 35 per cent salary premiums over and above the wages paid to their Indian equivalents. IndiGo isn’t the only Indian airline in this situation, as all fleets are expanding fast to cope with rising demand. Some 1,000 aircraft are to be added over the next ten years or so, and rival airlines are fighting for passenger numbers. Total numbers of pilots in the sub-continent are estimated at 7,963, with projections covering the next 10 years suggesting airlines will have to employ another 17,000 more to cover greatly increased demand for flights. Categories include commanders at 4,000 including 324 expatriate pilots, with the shortfall expected to be at around 14 per cent as demand increases.