Fast-growing Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo has commissioned a UK flight-training organisation to provide command training for its pilots. At the same time, The UK Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (GAPAN) has published a self-study command course training module designed to enable pilots to prepare for command training, and to aid them during it.
IndiGo's planned growth can be judged by the fact it is operating 56 of its 280 firm orders for Airbus A320 aircraft to be delivered between now and 2025. Rapid expansion means good promotion prospects for first officers, so the company has commissioned the CTC Aviation Group to ensure they are prepared for command.
The CTC command skills development programme has been approved by the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation, and consists of a four-day ground-school programme followed by 12 simulator details before returning to the line for a continuous development programme. CTC says the tailored course incorporates IndiGo's standard operating procedures, documentation and company culture.
IndiGo's vice-president flight operations Capt Saleem Zaheer says: "We have chosen to invest in our future captains to ensure they feel properly equipped for the additional responsibilities that come with command.
"We take safety extremely seriously and believe it is vital that a company growing as rapidly as we are retains a focus on ensuring training standards are maintained to an exceptional level.
"We wanted to take our pilots out of their normal working environment and immerse them in a training development programme that fully identifies with their needs. Our pilots will return to the line with us as captains, confident that they have received the highest quality, bespoke training."
GAPAN's training module is entitled "So you want to be a Captain?" and consists of a paper manual backed up with material on a searchable CD. It provides historical context, legal aspects of command, flightdeck management skills, and case histories.
Source: Flight International
