Pilot training institute opens centre in Hyd

The American School of Aviation (ASA), a US-based pilot training institute, opened its recruitment centre in Hyderabad on Tuesday, taking its total number of centres in the country to eight.

"With the airline sector booming, the career opportunities for aspiring pilots is better than ever before. We consider the recruitment potential in Hyderabad to be among the highest in the country, as people here have a high awareness of aviation, and hence the launch of a recruitment centre here," Arvinder Singh, director (operations), ASA India Private Limited, told mediapersons here on Tuesday.

According to him, the Indian aviation market is flying high and is estimated to have 70 million air passengers by 2010. "Indian carriers are expected to buy over 280 new planes worth $15 billion by 2010 and spend an equal amount in the following decade. In the long run, India needs 1,100 new aircraft, of which 935 would be passenger planes. For this, we need about 5,000 pilots," he said.

To cash in on this, he said ASA was planning to open 20 more recruitment centres in the country by this year end. Besides, the five-year-old institute is planning to add 50 more aircraft to its current fleet of 31 by June this year.

ASA offers two training programmes -- an eight-month Kingfisher Airlines Programme (KFA) and a special flying training programme with a 10-month duration period. Under KFA, ASA India does the psyochometric testing for aspiring pilots and sends them to Kingfisher Airlines for an interview. If selected, the candidate will get a substantial scholarship from KFA and also a provisional letter of appointment.

The programme costs $46,138.

Under the special flying training programme, which costs $37,998, students who enroll in the course will be given pilot training at the ASA's school in Atwater, California, supplemented by ground training at the ASA India's Gurgaon facility. ASA will facilitate the entire process of becoming a commercial pilot from the time a student applies till he or she gets a job with an airline. ASA currently trains 125 students.

Meanwhile, PV Lakshimipathy, director of ASA's Hyderabad business partner Life Aviation, said that the institute was conducting a seminar on February 14 in the city to create awareness about the opportunities in the aviation industry.