The desire to fly — Wilbur Wright said — is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors. To soar above the ground, float with the clouds and experience the thrill of being free has always been a cherished dream in the hearts and minds of men. And this probably, accounts in good measure, for the magic and wonder associated with flying in all cultures.
But even a young child of today has a good grapple of reality. He/she knows that there is no way we can grow wings and zoom into the sky like Superman. So the starry-eyed, modern kid settles for the next best aspiration. He dreams of becoming an airline pilot.
The answer one gets from children to the question: “what are you going to be when you are grown up?” is interesting. It tells a great deal about the prevailing socio-economic conditions. Take for instance the reply, “I want to be a pilot”. A decade ago the frequency of this line peaked in the age group 6 to 12. After that, children tamely switched to saying they wanted to become a doctor or “computer engineer”.
But today, it is not an odd 17-year-old who declares in all seriousness that he/she planned to become a commercial pilot. And the reasons for the choice are anything but juvenile.
The foremost of these is that in addition to being a glamourous job, a pilot earns a hefty pay packet, handsome perks and a lifestyle that keeps him/her high up, physically and metaphorically.
Also, since the minimum qualification required to become an airline pilot is to clear 10+2 some of the teenagers, who do not wish to “study” further, hope to take the pilot route to a top career.
With the aviation industry growing at over 20 per cent annually, on the surface, an aeroplane does appear to be the new age magic carpet. But a reality check among the fresh crop of youngsters, holding the prized licence to fly shows that inside the cockpit, the ride perhaps isn’t all that smooth as it appears to be.
The fee for the CPL course is a staggering Rs 16-20 lakh. The purported duration of the course is around 18 months. But since most of the Indian schools are handicapped by non-availability of instructors, it takes much longer to finish the same course with the requisite 250 hours of flying. So, many pilot aspirants opt to get the licence from a country outside India which, understandably, is a far more expensive proposition.
Even with the CPL in hand, one does not get to become a pilot right away. After getting the initial license, the candidate needs to get an airline endorsement, which means training on large aircraft like the Boeing 737. Training and endorsement costs for different aircrafts are extremely expensive and range from Rs 15 lakh upwards. Moreover, each time a pilot moves over to another type of aircraft, he/she will have to undergo special training for that aircraft and obtain the Type Endorsement.
If boys (and their parents) are prepared to take the plunge despite huge costs, it is because of the assumption that once the hefty pay checks start coming in, the loans could be easily liquidated. Here again, the truth is many shades darker than the belief.
For, despite the phenomenal growth of the aviation industry, the shortage gap between supply and demand has steadily been closing. With the result, today it is not easy for a fresher to find ready employment. A spokesperson of the Jet Airways, restricting himself to the situation in his company, admitted that “the supply of CPL holders is in excess of demand”. Apparently, media reports on shortage of pilots referred to experienced hands, not fresh trainees.
The pressure created by the increased volume of licence holders in the pipeline is being felt even by those who are already in job. Akash (name changed) a co-pilot with a private carrier says, “I joined here 18 months back. Initially, when there was pilot shortage, I would fly 120 hours a month. My best salary till date is Rs 2.4 lakh nett. I now barely fly 45-50 hours. My salary varies between Rs 1.20-1.30 lakh. I feel helpless as I’ve spent Rs 32 lakh on becoming a pilot and I am in deep trouble”.
Rajiv (name changed) is in a similar predicament. “Earlier, I would fly over 80 hours a month. But with more and more co-pilots joining, that’s reduced to 55-60 hours. From Rs 1.6 lakh my salary has come down to Rs 1.2 lakh. With increasing number of co-pilots in the market and airlines going through various air pockets, even “certain five star” privileges enjoyed by this community are being cut”.
The job market has further been squeezed with airlines opting to hire more ex-pat pilots with experience.
If flying is a passion with you then any investment in yourself is worth it. But just make sure you know that there is a lot of competition and lot of hard work. But if you imagined it was a short cut to reach the pot of gold, you are in for a rude shock.
