Market Intelligence: South East Asia

Alpha Aviation Group (AAG), a leading global provider of aviation training, is announcing a significant expansion of its operations in India, a key growth area for the business.

AAG is signing a Memorandum of Understanding at the Singapore Airshow with Gujrat, India based Blue Ray Aviation, a flight training organisation approved by the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), to provide end-to-end training for commercial pilots. Blue Ray Aviation operating from the Mehsana airfield, operates a fleet of C172s and a Piper Seneca at state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities.

The joint venture will provide a one-stop training solution for airlines, streaming Blue Ray’s commercial pilot license (CPL) graduates to the AAG Centre for Aviation Training (ACAT) in Chennai, run in partnership with Anemos Aviation, where the CPL pilots are type rated on airline passenger aircraft.

In another highlight, ACAT has signed a purchase agreement with SIM International to acquire an A320 Neo Standard V2.1 simulator, ensuring that the training centre provides cutting-edge training opportunities for the Indian market. The centre in Chennai is currently operating at capacity and ACAT is investing heavily in advanced Level D flight simulators to meet the continuing rise in demand. ACAT plans to add a third A320 to its fleet in 2025, alongside a B737 Max.

Nearly 1,500 new commercial pilots will be required each year for the next three years as the airline industry in India continues to grow. Currently, 810 commercial aircraft are operating in India, but that number will increase to 1,430 by 2027, a 76% increase over three years.

ACAT is further expanding its training footprint in India by venturing into cabin crew training. ACAT is proud to announce the inauguration of its premier cabin crew training centre in Siliguri, strategically located as the gateway to the North-East states of India. With India set to receive more than 1,000 aircraft deliveries in the next decade, the demand for skilled cabin crew is estimated to exceed 25,000 personnel, and Siliguri is poised to become a pivotal hub for cabin crew recruitment.

The centre features the first A320 mock-up in the region, providing students with an immersive training experience, and has capacity to train 500 students annually. It is spearheaded by industry veteran Arlene Marwah, who brings more than 40 years of experience in aviation including leadership roles in Inflight Service Departments at multiple airlines.

AAG’s increased investment in India comes after a record post-Covid year for AAG (Philippines) with pilot cadet enrolments in the market increasing year-on-year by 55% in 2023. AAG has also announced new ventures in Singapore as it expands across Asia Pacific.

AAG Group COO Cristopher Magdangal said: “India is a very significant market for AAG because there is huge pent-up demand, and we are ramping up our operations accordingly. AAG has earned an outstanding reputation in Asia Pacific as a leading pilot training provider, committed to the highest standards. We are proud to work with major airlines across the region and we look forward to building new relationships with partners in India. Our partnership with Blue Ray Aviation, together with further investments in our existing facilities, will provide airlines with an end-to-end training offering. We are increasing our capacity so that we can cater to the growing needs of leading airlines; we are already delivering localised A320 training and in the future, we also plan to offer training on B737 Max Full Flight Simulators”.

Blue Ray Aviation Chairman Rajiv Gandhi said: “We are delighted to announce this joint venture with AAG, and we are excited by the potential to grow our partnership because our offering is unique in the Indian market. By combining our resources and expertise, we can offer a complete pilot training solution for the industry. We are confident that this offering will be very attractive to our existing partners and will help solve capacity issues in the industry”.

About Alpha Aviation Group

AAG is a leading provider of aviation training solutions, working with airlines across the globe. It specializes in cadet assessment and selection, type ratings and flagship ab-initio cadet programs. All these are tailored and optimized to the operational needs of its partner airlines.

AAG Centre for Aviation Training (ACAT), India is an Approved Training Organisation (ATO) offering training on Airbus A320 Full Flight Simulator.

The domestic and Southeast Asian markets are served from AAG’s base in the Philippines where they operate an Approved Training Organization (ATO) and a certified Type Rating Training Organization (TRTO) for the Airbus A320. It also has the only EASA-certified Level D Airbus A320 Full Flight Simulator in its Philippine platform. In February 2024, AAG (Singapore) announced a joint venture in Indonesia with FlyBest Academy.

Source: Alpha Aviation Group