AirAsia's Airbuses, and Those Who Wish to Fly Them

AirAsia India's first aircraft was unlikely to arrive before 2 March 2014. This piece looked at how many pilots the airline had, what crew who switch airlines were looking for, and the prospect of a summer start.

The regulatory path

In October 2013 AirAsia India had intended to start with MSN 5200, an Airbus A320 that went on to fly for Indonesia AirAsia as PK-AZI and had earlier flown for AirAsia Japan. The closure of AirAsia Japan in October 2013 and the planned December 2013 start in India were a coincidence of timing.

On 20 January 2014 the DGCA issued a public notice under Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules 1937, inviting objections or suggestions within twenty days on the grant of a permit to AirAsia (India) Pvt Ltd for scheduled air transport services. That could only mean delay. A committee under A.K. Sharan, Joint Director General at the DGCA, was set up to review the responses.

A month later, on 21 February 2014, a second public notice said the committee had found no reason to hold up the processing of the application for an Air Operator Permit. That cleared the way, subject to compliance with the relevant CARs, CAP 3100 and other applicable rules and Aeronautical Information Circulars.

Aircraft on short finals

A photo showed MSN 6015, an A320-216SL, flying at Toulouse on 19 February 2014 under the test registration F-WWBV. It would become VT-ATF. According to ch-aviation, VT-ATB, MSN 6034, would be the next to join. Route proving flights, the last stage before the AOP, would be flown on these aircraft. MSN 5200 would stay with Indonesia AirAsia for the time being.

Tony Fernandes, receiving the group's 100th A320 at Toulouse in 2012, had said the A320 delivered excellent reliability and that AirAsia worked the aircraft very hard, almost 14 hours a day with eight landings and take offs and 25 minute turnarounds.

When IndiGo and GoAir began, their first A320s took almost a month between first flight and delivery. By 2014 that gap had shrunk to 11 to 15 days, though it sometimes still took a month. On that basis the first AirAsia India aircraft would arrive no earlier than 2 March and no later than 19 March 2014. The AOP was expected one to two weeks after proving flights, which pointed to late March, with operations starting in April 2014, in the Indian summer.

The airline reportedly planned to start with five aircraft and grow to ten within a year, though it declined to comment on fleet plans. With 35 pilots it could comfortably operate three or four aircraft.

Indian Civil Aviation Requirements state that an applicant must have a fleet of at least five aeroplanes before a Scheduled Operator's Permit is issued. The same CAR allows a start with one aircraft, with one year from the grant of the permit to reach five.

The airline in the sights of flight crew

AirAsia India had 35 pilots at the time: 15 captains and 20 first officers, with hiring continuing.

A SpiceJet first officer flying the Boeing 737NG, holding an airline transport licence and using the alias spiceflyboy, shared his thinking. An Airbus fly by wire rating would let him move later to an A330, A340, A350 or A380 operator, while his Boeing time kept the 777 and 787 open. He felt Airbus pilots were in greater demand worldwide. With more than 2,000 hours on the 737NG, another 2,000 on the A320 would make him future proof. AirAsia, as a low cost carrier, would give him plenty of flying, which he needed at that stage of his career. But he would go only if hired as a transition captain. He would not join if the airline failed to take off, paid less, or kept him as a first officer.

For many senior first officers facing a long wait for command, AirAsia was the target. A young airline has lots of flying and needs captains, so qualified first officers are pushed to the left seat. A faster command, even at slightly lower pay, matters: the P1 stamp on the licence opens up the job market. IndiGo had been the same when it was short of pilots, but that was no longer the case at the blue airline.

For others, work culture mattered more than money. Some pilots were ready to accept INR 20,000 to 30,000 less gross pay per month for the better work culture AirAsia was known for.

Either way, each AirAsia India interview session was drawing 10 to 15 suitably qualified crew, even if many were unsure about switching.