People in India cannot stop travelling. Aviation industry is booming. And I foresaw it way back in the 90s,” says Sapna Gupta. Sapna is the director-founder of Air Hostess Academy (AHA), claimed to be the first aviation and hospitality training institute in India. This travel and tourism lecturer’s foresight translated into AHA in 1997 that grooms and trains cabin crew, the ground staff and front office executives. Sapna was in the City recently to explore the south market and to discuss her expansion plans, when Metrolife chatted up with her on the Indian aviation industry standards, demand for air hostesses and the mushrooming training institutes.

Recognised by the Cambridge University, AHA has 35 branches across India. Headquartered in Delhi, Sapna now plans to put Bangalore on the pinnacle for the south region. To which she says, “Aviation in the south in getting very heavy. People here are travelling a lot. Although we get maximum number of candidates from the NCR region, Bangalore also churns out some really good ones. This is because people here are very exposed. Thanks to the call-centre culture. Teaching the boys and girls from Bangalore is a cake walk.” Sapna adds that by 2009, Bangalore is going to witness a big boom in the aviation sector.

AHA today trains children who eventually get placed with Indigo, GoAir, Jet Airways, Kingfisher, Oman Air including Emirates. “Emirates is the number one airline in the world. It’s very tough to get their contract but  today we have managed to bag a contract with them,” says Sapna, gleaming with pride. She reveals that AHA will soon sign a very big deal with an airline but is unwilling to divulge details.

Huge demand
With the growth in the aviation sector, the demand for air hostesses and male stewards has escalated as well. Providing statistics, Sapna says that the aviation sector will need 28,500 people for cabin crew alone in the next two years. AHA has enrolled 9000 students this year. And the service industry will offer 40 lakh jobs in the next few years! With such a magnificent demand, has the criteria for selection changed too? “The primary education criteria of 10+2 in any stream still holds. Verbal interview and group discussion takes place. A girl needs to be a minimum of five feet and two inches tall and a boy five feet seven inches with weight in accordance. Looks are not important anymore. Positive attitude counts. Once enrolled, we teach them a foreign language, swimming, yoga and meditation too,” replies the woman behind thousands of groomed faces that one meets while travelling or at vacations.

But what does Sapna feel about the ageing cabin crew on government aircrafts? Sighing over the lackadaisical attitude in the public sector, Sapna says, “We see the difference between the government and private sector everywhere. This is because the public sector is too secure with no worry about the hire and fire policy.
I am not at all happy with the standard of their cabin crew. They must revamp. Age factor can still take a backseat but you cannot afford to be overweight and not be groomed in this profession.”

Strenuous job
Hopping from one destination to the other, the cabin crew witness much pressure from late-night shifts and odd working hours. To which she says, “Which job does not have time pressures and late night shifts. Look at call centres, journalism, medical and IT sector.”

With the increasing demand in the the hospitality sector, training institutes are also mushrooming. So who’s the best? “Our government must lay down some standards for all these institutes. It’s sad to see some photocopy shop turning into an IT coaching institute and luring children. Please beware of these institutes and check the records,” warns Sapna.

AHA now plans to establish itself overseas as well in cities like Dubai, Colombo, UK and Australia. Nationally, they plan to set up shop in Cochin and Coimbatore in the recent future.

So what future does the Indian aviation industry hold? “It’s going to be one of the biggest revenue generating industries. It is going to have a fleet like that of Europe. Trains are going to vanish. And I will live, love and breathe AHA,” Sapna ends on a high note.