New Delhi. 02 July 2019. Young people with aspirations to become commercial pilots and see the world will have more opportunities to do so, thanks to a new Cadet Pilot Program announced by Flightrule Aviation Services and New Zealand International Commercial Pilot Academy (NZICPA) in partnership with IndiGo Airlines.
IndiGo (InterGlobe Aviation Limited), an Indian low-cost airline headquartered in Gurgaon, is the largest airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 50% domestic market share as of April 2019. It is also the largest individual Asian low-cost carrier in terms of jet fleet size and passengers carried. It offers professional growth in a culture of inclusion and diversity and is an excellent career choice for young pilots. It is expected that the airline will employ thousands of pilots in the next few years.
The New Zealand International Commercial Pilot Academy (NZICPA) has a strong history of successfully training professional pilots, and in response to the changing demands of the industry, has a complete suite of flight training courses. NZICPA is a New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority Certificated Aviation Training Organisation, and maintains Category One status as a registered New Zealand Qualifications Authority Private Training Establishment.
According to Phillip Bedford, CEO NZICPA, the NZICPA/IndiGo Cadet Pilot Program is unique as it offers several advantages over similar programs: ensuring quality and safety are never compromised, this is the first cadet program that offers a completely transparent fixed cost and fixed duration model, while maintaining a student to aircraft/instructor ratio of 5:1. Furthermore, any remedial/recency training will be free if there is no fault of the student.
The Cadet Pilot Program is managed by Flightrule Aviation Services LLP, an India-based aviation training company with a long established relationship with the NZICPA. Capt Rahul Monga, CEO Flightrule Aviation Services, says, “This program offers an exceptional value proposition. With an instructional staff of senior aviation instructors and administrative staff of aviation professionals, cadets will be exposed to the highest standards required by IndiGo from the beginning, making it a smooth transition from a student to an accomplished pilot.”
Ralph Hays, New Zealand Trade Commissioner for India and Consul General in Mumbai, says, “New Zealand’s aviation industry is characterised by specialist expertise across the full aviation spectrum, plus our flying environment is seen as somewhat unique and ideal for pilot training. New Zealand training programs meet internationally recognised International Civil Aviation Organisation standards, and we are renowned for producing quality pilots, engineers, crew, air traffic control, and managers. It’s great to see New Zealand and Indian businesses forming strong partnerships for the future.”
Another key component of the training will be delivered by Etihad Aviation Training (EAT) in Abu Dhabi, which is a globally recognised aviation training centre. ETA is the Airbus 320 Type Rating provider for the program.
Paolo La Cava, Managing Director, EAT says, “Etihad Aviation Training is pleased to announce that we have been awarded the contract to provide Flightrule cadet pilots with their first type rating on the Airbus A320 aircraft. We look forward to welcoming the cadets in 2020 at our world class training facility in Abu Dhabi. We are very much looking forward to working with Flightrule in providing the industry with fresh pilots in order to meet the global shortage.”
Symbiotics Ltd UK will be delivering the world class ADAPT test to select people to participate in the Cadet Pilot Program.
