Airline work in India

[IMC007]

Hi

As I understand it the huge demand for pilots in India has allowed foreign nationals to be employed as Captains, however FO's must be Indian Nationals.

Can a FO be employed by an Indian airline if they have a Overseas Citizenship of India or a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card together with a British passport.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

[Nevrekar]

I believe the OCI gives you the right to work in India. However, if you work as an "Indian" you have to convert all your licenses and be on the Indian payroll. It still seems to be a grey area as the OCI is a new concept. Your nationality is still going to be based on the passport you hold.

[B737NG]

Wait 6 more month and You find more F/O who are not Indian at all. The first two non Indian F/O are just accepted. The demand is too high. Even with lowering the minimum hours to 200 for a CPL/IFR Multi-engine is not "producing" enough national Pilots out of India. I understand that the Government trys to give as many as possible slots to Indians but the demand will stay higher as the supply. So keep your pace and watch the space. If you like I wll keep you posted. I am in India again end of this month for a market evaluation with several operatórs about the outlook. The DGCA will have to face the fact that they need to issue more validations as they did in the past.

Fly safe land happy

NG

[DesiPilot]

Dear IMC,

You can work in India on your POI card. A friend of mine who is an American citizen is working for Air Deccan on his POI card.

Yes, DGCA has started accepting foreign FO's for ATR's only. However, they will not accept an ab-initio FO. They are minimum experience requirements that goes along with it, just like for expat Captains.

:) Desipilot

[IMC007]

Thank you guys

I currently hold a JAA fATPL with about 1100 hours total time mainly SEP as I'm a flying instructor though I have recently self funded a JAA Dash 8 Q400 type rating. Would I need to convert any of my licences or sit any further examinations to work in an Indian airline.

Finally with my limited qualifications which indian airlines should I target?

Thanks once again.

[DesiPilot]

As Nevrekar said, you will have to convert your licence to Indian licence. You will be required to sit three exams: Nav & Flight planning, Met and Air Regs. You will also be required to pass Indian Class I medical and undergo a night, day and IR check with an Indian Examiner.

All of this process can take anywhere between 6 months to a year for CPL. You can find more information at http://dgca.nic.in

Good luck.

[kaptain]

Hi Desi pilot and others.... I have a few Qs to ask...please help if u can.

1) Converting in India a CPL/IR/Me from Malaysia... do i have to be current when i go there to india or just a renewed licence will do?

2) What are the disadvantages of not being current for conversion purposes?

3) Composite paper consists of 1) Nav and met, 2)Regulations.......the nav paper does it include radio aids, flt planning, instruments, aerodynamics, Performance and loading, HPL etc?

4) Is the composite paper as though as for the other papers for the locally trained pilots?

5) I did physics/maths at "O" levels. No Physics at "A" levels...only maths/chem/bio...... will this afftect me as the DGCA requirement is physics at "A" levels, eventhough i have all the required licences from overseas?

I have already ran a search in indianpilots.com. Not so sucessful.

Your help in these matters will be much appreciated. Thanking you in advance.

[Jamborjp]

hey guys,
I'm in the same boat as some of you. I'm of Indian origin but a Kenyan Citizen with FAA CPL/IR/ME and FAA CFI/CFII/MEI with 1200hrs.....if I get a FAA ATPL will it be easier to convert the licence or is the same as a CPL???
Which airlines to u think will pick someone like us first???

[Nevrekar]

I think your first priority should be getting your work status established. If you are of Indian origin apply for the the Overseas Citizen of India. That will take about 30-45 days from the time of application. Then you probably need to make a trip to India and start the process of converting your licenses. From what I hear, you will be better off enrolling in a prep class to do so.
Also you will need an R/T license from a commonwealth country which will be easiest to convert, otherwise you have to sit for the R/T exam which I am told can be a sham. Also needed is the medical. I have not gone through any of this but this is what I have read about in many of the previous posts. Be prepared for the paperwork nightmare, and also be prepared to "grease some palms." In India it is better known as Rishwat!

Apply to all the major players--JetAirways, AirDeccan, Indigo, GOair etc. Interview with everyone and then take the best offer. Don't say NO to anyone until you have a firm offer.

[freightpuppy]

Hello people:
heard some talk about the OCI certificate, has anyone had a job offer from India based on their OCI cer, or in other words are the airlines hiring people who have the cert.Can you still get a job as an expat or do you have to go thru the conversion process? I believe if you hold a foreign passport, you are restricted to access to 'sesitive' areas- airports are a good example.

[DesiPilot]

Well, to convert your licence from an ICAO licence to Indian licence, you must have a current ICAO licence. If it has lapsed, you cannot convert your licence, rather you will have to take the technical exams as well (you are exempted from technical exams if you hold current ICAO licence).

1) Apply for OCI or PIO card.

2) As Nevrekar said, a foreign RT (UK CAA works just fine) will help you get an Indian RTRO (actually it is Certificate of Proficiency based on your foreign RT and expires with foreign RT). Trust me you do not want to take Indian RT exam (pass rate is about 4%-5%).

3) You will need to apply for a computer number with DGCA for written exams (http://dgca.nic.in). Without computer number you cannot sit written exam.

4) Before you go through the hassle of written exams get yourself an Indian class I medical (if you hold JAA class I you will probably be ok; if you hold FAA class I, well you know the standards). The intial class I medical can only be done in either in Delhi or Bangalore. Presently, the Air Force Central Medical Establishment is giving appointments after 3-4 months. This is one the few establishments where you cannot grease any palms. The medical will cost you whopping Rs. 414, thats about $9 US.

5) While you are in India I suggest you join some classes for licence conversion exams. There are a few instructors in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkotta and Chennai.

6) The exam takes place 5 times a month so you will have to plan your visit to India. The last date for filling in the exam forms is the 10th day of the month before the exam month. Having an ATPL is not going to help you. Infact the syllabus is almost same (few minor additions for ATP) but there is a Viva for ATPL and that brings the pass rate down.

7) After you have passed the written exams, you will have to contact one of the flight schools/examiners for your Skill test by day, skill test by night and IR. There is a minimum hour experience requirement for conversion in last 6 months, checkout the DGCA website.

8) Take all your paper work to DGCA, along with your licence, foreign licence, logbooks, RTRA (COP). I suggest buy a pair of new shoes, you will need those for all the running around. Or as Nevrekar said grease some palms. But you can do it only through someone you know/trust.

9) After your licence is issued contact all the carriers in India (Kingfisher, Jet, Spice. Deccan, Go, Indigo (if up and running by then), Air India Express, Air India, Indian Airlines or Blue Dart (carry boxes around)). I suggest stay away from Paramount for now.

10) Be ready to sign a five year contract. There is a shortage of ATR pilots so Jet, KFR and Deccan prefer to recruit for ATRs only.

I am sure I missed out on quite a few points. Someone like Leftwing or Nevrekar can give more suggestions. I also suggest that you visit www.indianpilots.com you can get some useful information there.

All this process can take anywhere between 5-12 months depending on your sources, commitment, depth of your pockets and patience.

Once you are online you do not have to go through all this red tape as airlines take care of all your paper work. As an new FO be ready to work hard. There is a shortage of FO's so you will be flying any where between 85-100 hours per month.

I am yet to experience online life in India but so far it has been good for me (may be the fact that I kept my Indian licence current and I didn't have to go through conversion, specially when DGCA people knows how much money you will be making, the amount of grease required for their palms has gone up drastically).

Good luck.

[DesiPilot]

DGCA's ruling on conversion of licence can be found at http://dgca.nic.in/cars/D7G-G1.pdf