Airbus begins work on pilot training hub

India has more than 200 of Airbus' planes in operation, move will benefit IndiGo, Vistara & GoAir

Buoyed by orders from entities in this country, European aircraft maker Airbus is opening a pilot training centre here. Work on this was inaugurated on Friday at a site which is part of the international airport; it will be operational by the end of 2018.

It will house two simulators of the A320 for pilots from customer airlines. Which includes Vistara, IndiGo and GoAir. “We have only scratched the surface on civil aviation in India. The training centre will be the first such facility fully owned by us in Asia,” said Tom Enders, global chief executive officer (CEO) of Airbus.

India has a little more than 200 of Airbus' planes in operation; there is also an order backlog of about 520 of its A320neo, giving it a market share of 70 per cent in service. 

On an average, Airbus will deliver one aircraft each week here over the next 10 years. Market leader IndiGo, budget carrier GoAir and full service airline Vistara are all Airbus clients and have ordered the A320 neo.

IndiGo, in two tranches in 2011 and 2015, ordered 530 aircraft, which includes 430 of the neo. At the Farnborough Air Show in July last year, Airbus got an order for 72 of the A320 neos from GoAir. 

And, Vistara on Friday signed a five-year agreement with Airbus Group India to provide training to its pilots for the A320. 

“As India gears up to become the world’s third largest aviation market, it is imperative to have adequate world-class training facilities, to ensure a steady pipeline of proficient pilots,” said Vistara CEO Phee Teik Yeoh.

The training facility will be situated on a 11-acre lot at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here. 

It will begin with two simulators and gradually increase. The initial training envisaged is for 800 pilots and 200 maintenance engineers annually.