Congratulations on the successful completion of C-Check on the Kuwait Airways aircraft at Nagpur facility. As the aircraft nears re-delivery phase, what can you tell your readers about rising standards of Indian MRO industry? Can we expect more foreign aircraft to touch-down at Nagpur facility?
Indian MRO industry is getting matured and is inviting attention of international players. I do foresee coming up of many more international planes to NAG, and other internationally accredited MROs located at different locations in India.
Post the privatization of Air India, all eyes are now on privatization of AIESL. What are your views regarding this? What would you like to tell the potential investors?
Post disinvestment of AI, AIESL has been managing its show. There are challenges running an independent organization, and we are accepting them, and are finding ways to deal with them. We are eagerly looking for disinvestment of AIESL.
AIESL is ONLY MRO in India, which has sizeable presence in all four segments, that is, Line Maintenance, Base Maintenance, Engine Overhaul and Component Overhaul. It is perhaps the only MRO in world to have three engine test houses. AIESL has highly specialized skilled manpower, which needs to be leveraged to build a formidable MRO with right amount of investment.
Can you throw some light on growth trajectory of various AIESL facilities across India? Any plans for global expansion?
AIESL needs to upgrade its facilities to continue servicing modern aircraft, engines and component. As most of the hangars are more than 30 years old, they need major renovations. AIESL is upgrading its capabilities in modern hangars at TRV and NAG, and upgrading the old hangars with whatever money we can spare. As far as going for global expansion, AIESL is open to take up additional Line Stations. AIESL is also available for any international tie-ups, wherein our expertise is used by some investor to build a world-class MRO.
The word is abuzz that AIESL is currently recruiting more staff to meet the rising demand of maintenance operations. Can you tell us a bit more about the recruitment process? How many AME’s technicians have you employed so far and what is the total recruitment figure you are looking at?
AIESL basically sells man-hours, and hence, AIESL needs to enhance its manpower, to sell more man-hours. At this moment. We are looking to fill all the approved vacancies, and also to replace retiring staff. We needed at least one thousand technicians, out of which, 300-odd have already joined. We are strictly following a transparent process, where in all vacancies are advertised on AIESL website and newspapers, and all available candidates have equal chance to prove their merit for selection.
Similarly, we are looking forward to hiring at least 150 fresh AMEs from open market. We have also upgraded another 150 internal technicians to Trainee AME, and we are qualifying them to acquire initial licenses.
What can you tell our readers about the global impending problem of shortage of skilled labor with regards to MROs? As one of the leading MROs in India what steps is AIESL taking to address this issue?
India has 50-odd Basic 147 schools, who are churning out at least 5000 odd technicians every year. Many of these students have cleared DGCA modules and can be ready to be AME in 2-3 years. So, there is no dearth of young talent for Aircraft Maintenance in India.
When it comes to Engine or component overhaul, there is an issue. The person has to be task trained for at least 2 years, in a similar environment, before doing independent tasks. Hence, only existing shops can create more technicians and Engineers. While AIESL still has such facilities available, which can be used to build higher capacity, they may die down soon if not harvested quickly. So, there definitely is a challenge.
What advice would you give todays’ young AMEs planning to pursue a career in aircraft maintenance?
This is a field which requires discipline and single-minded dedication to succeed. The initial success is slow, but then one gets rewarded for the dedication eventually. So, one needs to be patient and continue walking. The road is usually long, but it pays eventually.
Another word of caution: anyone looking for quick short-term success may keep away from this field.
Is the Indian MRO industry prepared for the huge influx of aircraft from Air India and IndiGo?
As I just mentioned, there is no dearth of manpower in India. The current infrastructure is enough to take care of all immediate needs. The main challenge would be 6-8 years from now, when the newly acquired aircraft would be due for 6-year check. But then, there is enough time to prepare for them, and hence, there is no major cause for concern.
