India considers ranking flying schools on parameters such as average time to complete CPL

India is likely to soon rank flying training organisations (FTOs) here on several parameters such as the average time spent by students there to obtain a commercial pilot licence (CPL) -- who need to fly training aircraft for 200 hours and pass several subject examinations that are administered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Until now, there have been no timeframes in which this process can be done and this process tends to take upto two years or even longer. Due to this, lots of Indian students travel overseas annually to obtain their CPL on a priority basis at a higher price.

DGCA chief Faiz Ahmed Kidwai is understood to be working on providing "competition, transparency and fairness" between FTOs by way of the planned ranking system. "Our main goal is to provide safety for which spot checks are regularly conducted on and quality of training. But it is time to also consider the issue of ease of becoming a pilot while providing the first two things.".

"Enough is enough. We need a portal for Indian flying schools which provides all their information such as their fleet strength of single & multi-engine aircrafts; incident & accident history; number of trainers & students and how much time their students take on average to finish CPL. On the basis of these factors, various schools will be graded and then students can make a well-informed decision on which FTO they should choose," said several officials who were present at a recent meeting where Kidwai talked about his plan. The regulator is making efforts to make this a reality.

A majority of student pilots belong to middle-class families who have borrowed large amounts of money to provide wings to the dreams of their children. The exorbitant fees of flying schools—Rs 20,000-25,000 per hour for single-engine and Rs 50,000-60,000 for multi-engine—contribute to their financial burden. Even as they wait for flying slots, families continue to pay monthly hostel charges of Rs 20,000-30,000.

With the exception of a few, Indian flying training schools have a spotty record in various aspects such as safety and duration for the completion of CPL.

"Despite shelling out Rs 50-60 lakh, students in most flying schools have to plead for their flying to happen. Misleading assurances regarding timelines; trainer unavailability and aircraft unavailability keep delaying training by months. Students miss out on airline openings, jeopardizing their careers for all the money spent," said some student pilots.

On the other hand, some FTO operators on condition of anonymity aver that they are limited by factors such as trainer shortage. "At times trainers are those who are still waiting for an airline job. The moment they get the same, they quit. Then FTOs poach one another's 'good' trainers. These also have an impact on delays alongside other factors beyond our control.". It is economically prudent for us to train as many as we can and we don't wait for fun or sadistic enjoyment, they stated.