For graduates of aviation academies, it is a good job market

Some domestic airlines might have landed in a trough in terms of profitability. But students coming out of aviation academies and institutions are getting aboard the aviation industry with relative ease.

With no let-up in hiring by Indian and foreign carriers, the demand for airport ground staff, cabin crew and airhostesses is strong, with industry players expecting it to further firm up in the coming months.

Foreign airlines such as Emirates, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways and Korean Airways have been picking up Indians as cabin crew, especially as they are looking for the added qualification of fluency in regional languages for their Indian flights.

“India has on order 400 aircraft for the next decade or so involving an investment of $30 billion. This will throw up opportunities for 19,000 cabin crew, 24,000 technicians and 36,000 ground staff,” Mr Ravi Dighe, Head of Aptech Aviation, said.

Aptech, which opened its 35th centre in Hyderabad last week, will open eight more this year and reach 75 in the next five years. Last year, 70 per cent of its total students of 5,000, who registered for placement, were absorbed by the industry.

“The entry level salaries ranged from Rs 10,000 to 15,000 for ground staff and Rs 25,000 to Rs 60,000 a month for placements inside aircraft,” he says.

Frankfinn Institute, which has over 75 centres in India, each training 200 students, also registered similar results. Last year it enabled about 5,000 students getting placed in the aviation industry in different categories.

“Our students joined as cabin crew for an entry level salary of between Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 in domestic airlines and Rs 45,000 to as high as Rs 1.20 lakh in an international airline,” Mr K.S. Kohli, Chairman of Frankfinn Group, said.

The institute is expanding its network in India and overseas, including West Asia and Africa, besides putting together plans to start a regional airline, ‘Air Frankfinn’.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/article3569411.ece