Air India on Thursday announced an order for 34 trainer aircraft to prepare itself for its massive fleet expansion over the next decade.
The order includes 31 single-engine aircraft from Piper Aircraft in the United States and 3 twin-engine aircraft from Diamond Aircraft in Austria. These will be used to train cadet pilots at its proposed flying training school in Amravati in Maharashtra.
The training school is expected to start operations in second half of 2025 following regulatory approvals and will churn out 180 commercial pilots every year, the airline said in a statement
“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,” said Sunil Bhaskaran, Director, Aviation Academy, Air India.
Air India placed an order for 570 aircraft in two tranches. While the first order was for 470 aircraft, the airline topped it with an order for 100 Airbus planes, including 10 A350 and 90 A320 type aircraft.
