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Air India has written to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that it would not be able to meet the deadline of July 2011 to phase out its expatriate pilots as it needs them to fly the new aircraft the ailing airline is acquiring.It was only last month that the DGCA agreed to extend the deadline for the phasing out of expatriate pilots from June 2010 to July 2011. Air India said it was seeking an extension because it was expecting delivery of its Boeing 787s in 2011. "The delivery schedule of B787s will have an impact on requirement of pilots including expatriate pilots, which is being evaluated," said an Air India spokesperson."In view of fleet expansion and shortage of type rated pilots, the company is not able to phase out all the expatriate pilots and has therefore requested DGCA for extension of deadline," he said.The airline has placed orders for 27 B-787s which are expected in 2011.Over the last three years, Indian pilots associations have been lobbying for the phasing out of foreign pilots. The bone of contention is that foreign pilots typically earn 15-20 per cent more than their Indian counterparts. Also, presence of expatriate pilots in commander positions reduces career progression for Indian pilots. For a pilot who has been flying a B-737 for a few years, a career progression would be learning to fly a B-777.Most foreign pilots in Air India are said to be on the B-777. According to the airline, in all Air India and Air India Express together have 125 foreign pilots — 78 on B-737 and 47 flyingB-777s. "The move to extend the deadline beyond 2011 will not be well appreciated by the airline pilots.The B-777 was acquired in 2005. Over the last five years, the company had enough time to train maximum number of Indian pilots for the 777," said a pilot.Pilots say that the airline should not need foreign pilots for 787s as Boeing would provide trainers to instruct senior Air India commanders when the aircraft are delivered as per the contract. Also no airline has experienced 787 pilots as the first aircraftwill be transferred to airlines only later this year.Naseem Zaidi, Director General of Civil Aviation, said that the extension of deadline to 2011 had been finalised after receiving inputs from all airlines. "But it is a continuous process and the matter will be reviewed as and when required," he said.
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