MUMBAI: Budget carrier IndiGo has hired 35 pilots from rival Kingfisher Airlines over the past six to eight months, sources told ET.
Gurgaon-based IndiGo, which kicked off its expansion plans with one of the largest aircraft orders in the industry earlier this year, is looking to hire aggressively. The hired pilots are said to be senior in rank, operating Kingfisher's ATR and A320 fleet.
At least half of them are from Kingfisher' ATR fleet (turboprop aircraft with 60-70 seats capacity).
"We have a requirement of 700-800 pilots over the next five years," IndiGo said in a reply to a mail sent to it over the issue. One of the pilots from Kingfisher said: "IndiGo has promised pilots from Kingfisher a command position within a fixed time on its A320 type and will impart conversion training from small aircraft to single-aisle A320."
India's aviation sector does not allow poaching and pilots must serve a six-month notice to their employer before moving on to anew assignment.
But industry sources said airlines have been cross hiring over the past one-year, as some airlines, such as Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher, are expanding slowly while some struggling ones, such as Air India, have pilots scouting for jobs. Such pilots serve as a good resource for the fast-growing domestic aviation sector that is grappling with a shortage of trained pilots.
Some pilots from Kingfisher and Air India have requested the sector regulator to do away with the compulsory notice period to facilitate easier movement. According to a recent report by research and analysis body Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation , India will need at least 90,000 crew, including pilots, to steer its aviation growth over the next 20 years.
The sector is currently growing at 18%. Aircraft maker Boeing has forecast a $150-billion market for 1,320 new passenger airplanes in India over the next 20 years. Domestic air traffic growth through 2014-15 is forecast to touch 16.7% per annum.
Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/indigo-hires-35-kingfisher-airlines-pilots-over-past-eight-months/articleshow/9265283.cms
