National flag carrier Air-India (AI) has outsourced its passenger handling operations at the J F Kennedy airport to Zurich-based ground handling major Swissport International. The $1.2 billion Swissport International is the leading service provider in global ground and cargo handling serving two million flights every year.The outsourcing contract would result in savings of $7,50,000 per year for Air-India. The passenger handling operations was earlier carried out by 26-member staff and three supervisors.The airline was amongst the few operators that was handling the flights at JFK airport for the last several years though services to new destinations like Chicago, Los Angles and Newark, where it operates daily services, were outsourced.According to sources, an agreement was reached with the union for severence pay along with certain benefits for a specified period in lieu of the union agreeing to outsource the activity.When contacted, an AI spokesperson said: "As part of the corporate strategy, the management is continuously looking out for activities that could be outsourced at foreign and Indian stations instead of doing it by deploying its own manpower."Even in India, several non-core functions are being identified and outsourced resulting in considerable savings on manpower costs, he added.Meanwhile, Air-India is scouting for flying training institutes to provide training to science and engineering graduates with zero flying background. The institutes would provide prospective candidates with Commercial Pilot Training and Multi Engine Rating as per syllabus and regulation prescribed by the Director General of Civil Aviation.The candidates will be provided assistance by Air India to obtain educational loan to fund their own training.The airline is also in the process of appointing a professional recruitment agency (PRA) for carrying out activities related to conduct of written tests and other formalities for selecting cadet pilots at Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata.
