Air India Express, the low-cost arm of Air India Charters, will become
an independent company in five years after cutting the umbilical cord with the
parent company, top officials of Air India Express said here on Thursday.
Addressing the media after the 187th board meeting of the company, Air
India Express deputy chief operating officer Captain Pushpinder Singh also said
that the airline’s headquarters in Kochi would become fully functional from
January 2013.
“AI Express will have its own crew and aviators in the next five years.
Commanders and pilots who are on deputation with us from Air India will return
to the parent company gradually and these posts will be filled through fresh
recruitment,” he said.
Steps were being taken to recruit more pilots. “We have 180 pilots
against the actual requirement of 250. Of these, 166 are on deputation from Air
India. We are planning to recruit 60 commanders and 50 pilots,’’ he said.
He added that the salary for pilots would be revised to make it the best
in the industry. However, they were focusing on optimum utilisation
of its aviators to provide better service. “It has been decided at the meeting
to hire pilot instructors from abroad. These foreign instructors will enhance
the strength of the existing commanders and will also ensure that trainee
pilots are getting ready to join service at the earliest.
“Instructions have also been given to upgrade senior commanders as
instructor pilots,” he said.
In the next three years, AI Express will acquire 14 aircraft
taking the total number of flights to 35. “Though we have 21 aircraft at
present, we are able to use only 17 due to shortage of pilots,’’ he said.
Regarding the AI Express headquarters in Kochi, Capt Singh said senior
officers from operations, flight safety, commercial, finance and flight
coordination would be deputed to the Kochi office. “A call centre for
Kerala will be set up in the first quarter of 2013,’’ he said.
Ministry of Civil Aviation Joint Secretary Rajashekera Reddy, Retired
Air Chief Marshal Fali H Major, Air India finance director S Venkat, Air India
engineering director K M Unni, commercial director Deepak Brara and Air India
Express chief operating officer Ansbert D’Souza were present at the board
meeting.
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