'Air India playing foul'

Twenty-four-year-old Navin Singh couldn't believe his luck when in August 2008 he received an interview call from Alliance Air, the low-cost wing of Air India, for the post of trainee pilot. Singh had spent over Rs 20 lakh in obtaining a commercial pilot's licence and was looking forward to a successful career. The interview went off successfully but then came the dark twist in the tale. Air India went absolutely silent, neither confirming the job, nor cancelling the recruitment process.
u00a0
On June 16, this year, Singh noticed an advertisement issued by Alliance Air in leading national newspapers, inviting fresh applications for type-rated pilots (trained to fly a particular passenger aircraft) urgently. Singh, along with the 67 other qualified pilots who had been invited for the interview last year, are now up in arms against the national carrier, accusing it of foul play.

The alleged fraud

"Till last year, Air India hired trainee pilots and then trained them to fly the particular type of aircraft. But this year, the airline has advertised to directly recruit type-rated pilots. If the airline can't afford to train us, we can do so ourselves," said Singh. Agreed Lokesh, another applicant who had appeared for the interview. "If Air India wanted type-rated pilots, the airline should have told us to undergo the training. We would have done so. If I have spent Rs 20 lakh to get a commercial pilot's licence, can't I afford to spend another Rs 12 to 15 lakh, which is the fee for the special training?" said Lokesh.

The reason

The young pilots allege Air India is resorting to this ploy to fraudulently recruit pilots from certain private airlines.

"In May 2009, these pilots from private airlines were issued recruitment letters. However, the letters were later withdrawn when we approached the vigilance department of the airline and lodged a compliant. To cover-up the fraud, the airline has issued fresh advertisements to somehow pull these pilots abroad," said another applicant.

"Our results were withheld for almost nine months. Air India could have called us and by now we would have completed the special aircraft training," said Lokesh.

Dream gone sour

For most of them, a dream has been shattered. "I took a loan of Rs 20 lakh to fund my training programme from an American institute. I was depending on the Alliance Air job to repay it. I waited for over nine months for the job offer. If they didn't want to take us in, the airline could have intimated us officially," said Arjun, another applicant.

Air India's 'urgency'

Urmila Subbarao, head, vigilance department, Air India, refused to comment on the issue, saying she did not recall receiving any such complaint.

"This year we have advertised for type-rated pilots because we need experienced hands. Earlier, we used to advertise for trainee pilots. The difference in requirement is apparent. While we can understand the views expressed by some pilots who had applied for jobs on a previous occasion, they need to appreciate the urgency of our requirement," said Air India's spokesperson Jitendra Bhargava.

(All names in the story have been changed to protect the identities of the pilots)

Another fraud?
Last week, Air India cancelled the recruitment of 40 trainee pilots.

The advertisement regarding the vacancy was published in leading national dailies in February this year and the written test was held on April 12, 2009.u00a0 About 1,400 commercial pilot licence holders had applied.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Air India had received several complaints of manipulation and irregularities in the selection process of these pilots. It was alleged that some of the selected candidates were related to senior Air India officials. According to sources, the perks and privileges offered to these pilots were better than those permitted by Air India rules.

Curiously, a vigilance inquiry had not found any wrongdoing in the selection process of the pilots.

The job story
In April 2008, Air India had invited applications for trainee pilots in Alliance Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Aviation Company of India Limited. The written test was held on May 25, in which 260 candidates were invited. Out of these, 92 were selected and appeared for an interview held in Delhi between September 2 and 12. Around 68 commercial pilot licence holders appeared for the interview. However, the airline has neither declared the result nor cancelled the interview process.