Air India to hire 900 pilots, 4,200 trainee crew to support growth plans

At present Air India has 115 aircraft. This calendar year it will receive six Airbus A350s and 25 Boeing 737 Max planes; will also take 36 aircraft on lease

Air India will hire 900 pilots and 4200 trainee cabin crew in 2023 to support its growth plans, the airline announced on Friday.

The carrier had announced a mega order for 470 Airbus and Boeing aircraft last week. These planes will be delivered over the next 7-10 years.

At present Air India has 115 aircraft. In the current year it will receive 31 planes--six Airbus A350s and 25 Boeing 737 Max planes. The 737 Max planes are expected to join its low-cost arm, AI Express.

The airline will also induct 36 planes on lease including two Boeing 777s that have already joined its fleet.

Commenting on the hiring plans, Sandeep Verma, head-inflight services, said, “With a sizeable aircraft order that was announced earlier in the month, more flights on international and domestic networks, and re-alignment of domestic routes with AIX connect (earlier known as AirAsia India), cabin crew will play a decisive role in shaping the present and future of the Air India group."

"We are also looking to step up hiring of more pilots and maintenance engineers," Verma added.

Between last May until now the airline hired over 1,900 cabin crew. Around 1100 of them have been trained in the last seven months and 500 released for flying duty in three months.