The Government has projected a market for 500 more helicopters in the next few years.
The country is likely to witness a boom in the helicopter business in the next few years.
Helicopter companies AgustaWestland and Sikorsky have announced plans to manufacture helicopters in Hyderabad, even as the Government has projected a market for 500 more helicopters in the next few years. However, the industry is facing a severe shortage of pilots. Apart from the demand for operating the existing fleet of about 300 helicopters in the country, the overall demand is pegged at around 2,000 pilots.
Training institutes
The other issue is that of training. As of now, only state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) caters to the requirements of the helicopter industry. Top aviation academies are now in the process of setting up helicopter training institutes in the country. For a five-month course, institutes are likely to charge between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 30 lakh. Trainees need to complete 150 hours of flying to acquire the Commercial Helicopter Pilot Licence. Demand for these courses seems to have picked up. “They (students) get salaries to the tune of Rs 24 lakh a year,” Mr March Carvalho, Chief Executive Officer of Carver Aviation, a Mumbai-based training institute, told Business Line. Carver Aviation, which owns a fleet of 20 aircraft, is setting up a helicopter training institute at Baramati in Maharashtra and plans to enrol 30-40 students per batch. With the commercial airline industry going through a rough patch, around 2,900 of the estimated 7,000 licensed aircraft pilots are ‘on the bench.' On the other hand, prospects in the helicopter industry look better.
Untapped potential
The country is yet to tap the potential of this industry. Helicopters can be used in news gathering, policing, medical emergencies, heli-hops to avoid city traffic and corporate travel,” Mr Carvalho said.
Mr Tridib Nandy, Director of Helicop Aviation, a Delhi-based helicopter training, leasing and placement services company, said that they have tied up with a leading US aviation academy, Mauna Loa Helicopter Training School, based in Hawaii, to offer courses. “The students get DGCA-compliant training and we will charge Rs 22.50 lakh for the course. We have already enrolled 30 students so far,” he said. Joining the race is Hyderabad-based Turbo Aviation Private Ltd. “As the shortage for pilots is severe, helicopter pilots are set to get 30-40 per cent more than their aircraft peers. We are starting a batch in July, with 60 students,” Mr Umesh, a company executive, said.
- The Hindu Business Line
