Air India Approved to Cross-Utilize Wide-Body Pilots for B777 and B787 Planes

According to officials, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aviation regulator, has granted Air India’s request to permit pilots to operate two types of Boeing wide-body aircraft, a long-standing request. Air India will initially train eight designated examiners to operate the Boeing 777 and 787 planes. The senior DGCA official stated that they will train four examiners to operate 777s and four examiners to fly 787s.

Collaborating with existing pilots to enable them to fly two different types of aircraft would benefit the carrier’s ambitious international expansion objectives. Civil aviation regulations allow regulatory bodies to approve seasoned pilots to perform various tests and evaluations. Therefore, the Cross-utilization of their expertise could leverage this approach. These designated examiners are typically airline employees who have extensive experience in the field.

AIR INDIA AND DGCA

According to an official, the DGCA has approved Air India’s proposal, which requires each of the eight designated examiners to have at least 150 hours of flight experience, with a minimum of 10 landings for operating the Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft separately. The watchdog granted the approval on March 3.

An Air India representative stated that the airline has received regulatory clearance for Multi-Seat Flying (MSF), which involves an extensive training process and enables a single pilot to operate two different types of aircraft. As per a DGCA official, around 16 countries have adopted the cross-utilization of pilots, and presently, Air India has roughly 700 wide-body pilots.

Overall, Air India has not yet responded to inquiries about the DGCA approval. The airline, which was purchased by Tata Group in January of the previous year, currently employs about 1,825 pilots and plans to hire additional pilots as it expands its services. In the previous month, also, Air India placed an order for 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing, which included 70 wide-body planes.

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