Air India has placed an order for 34 trainer aircraft for its upcoming Flying Training Organisation (FTO) in Amravati, Maharashtra. The airline claims this facility will be the largest flying school of its kind in South Asia. This development follows a recent 100-plane order placed by the airline with Airbus just 10 days ago.
The Tata Group-owned airline has ordered 31 single-engine aircraft from Piper Aircraft, based in the US, and three twin-engine planes from Austria’s Diamond Aircraft. While Air India did not disclose the deal value, the estimated purchase price based on publicly available list prices is between $12-15 million.
The FTO at Amravati’s Belora Airport aims to graduate 180 commercial pilots annually. This initiative aligns with Air India’s strategy to train a pipeline of pilots for its extensive fleet expansion, which includes an aggregate order of 570 aircraft spanning narrow-body and wide-body models.
The trainer aircraft are equipped with advanced features, including glass cockpits, G1000 avionics systems and Jet A1 engines. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2025, the company said.
Sunil Bhaskaran, director, Aviation Academy, Air India said “The new FTO is a strategic move to exponentially expand our training infrastructure and our commitment to building a self-reliant ecosystem of qualified pilots for both Air India and the Indian aviation industry.”
Air India recently opened its new Aviation Training Academy, spread over 600,000 sq ft, the largest in South Asia, in Gurugram. It is also the first airline in India to announce the setting up of an FTO.
Air India recently inaugurated its Aviation Training Academy in Gurugram, which spans 600,000 sq ft, making it the largest in South Asia. The airline is also the first in India to announce the establishment of an FTO, further cementing its commitment to enhancing pilot training and aviation standards in the country. At the FTO in Amravati, Air India is developing an institute over 10 acres, with digitally enabled classrooms which it said will be at par with global academies, hostels, a digitised operations center along with its own maintenance facility to elevate operational efficiency.