Pilots grounded, want recruits wings clipped

Sixty eight pilots interviewed by Air India, but not given jobs last year allege foul play after learning that the carrier has once gain advertised for a fresh batch of recruits

Pilots grounded, want recruits wings clipped

Sixty eight pilots interviewed by Air India, but not given jobs last year allege foul play after learning that the carrier has once gain advertised for a fresh batch of recruits

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 (AI), for the post of trainee pilot.

Singh, who spent over Rs 20 lakh in obtaining a commercial pilot's licence, was looking forward to a successful career.

The interview went off well, but then came the dark twist in the tale. Air India went absolutely silent, neither confirming the job, nor cancelling the recruitment process.

On June 16, this year, Singh noticed an advertisement issued by Alliance Air in leading national dailies, 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.u00a0

"Till last year, AI 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 AI wanted type-rated pilots, the airline should have told us to undergo the training," he added.

Foul play?

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 However, the letters were later withdrawn when we approached the vigilance department of the airline and lodged a compliant.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 pull these pilots aboard," said another applicant.

The pilots accuse the airline of making excuses. "Our results were withheld for almost nine months. AI could have called us and by now we would have completed the special aircraft training," said Lokesh.

Dreams unfulfilled

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 offer. If they didn't want to take us in, the airline could have intimated us officially," said Arjun, another applicant.

Urgent demand

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

"This year we have advertised for type-rated pilots as we need experienced hands. Earlier, we advertised for trainees. The difference in requirement is apparent.

The pilots need to appreciate the urgency of our requirement," said AI spokesperson Jitendra Bhargava.

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

Results awaited

In April 2008, Air India had invited applications for trainee pilots in Alliance Air. 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.u00a0 However, the airline neither declared the result nor cancelled the interviews.