ATAC NEWS FLASH / ATAC FLASH NOUVELLES

 Canadian Flight Schools Well Received by India Aviation Community!

India Minister of Civil Aviation, Regulators and Operators Welcomed ATAC Schools in India

Ottawa, March 8, 2010. Twelve Canadian flight schools visited Delhi and Hyderabad during the first week of March 2010. In Hyderabad they had also had a presence at the Aviation Expo 2010.  Operating cooperatively under the umbrella of the Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC), these twelve flight schools also had the support of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. Objectives of the trip were to listen carefully to understand the training needs of the Indian aviation community, to gather market intelligence and to set the stage for increasing the number of Indian student pilots in Canada.

The Indian Civil Aviation Minister, Mr. Praful Patel welcomed their presence in India at a gala Civil Aviation dinner in Hyderabad on March 4^th. The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Dr. Nasim Zaidi, suggested that ATAC Schools help the training organizations in India improve quality in training. At receptions in both Delhi and Hyderabad, Indian operators indicated their appreciation of the quality of Canadian Flight Training with its geographically and meteorologically diverse environment.

Throughout the trip schools also heard three strong messages from Indian business representatives and from Canadian trade commission persons: that their mission was well received, that Canadian aviation needs a stronger presence in India, and that the group of schools needed to follow up on this first visit over the next 6 months to solidify the burgeoning relationship between the two aviation communities.

ATAC schools started setting the stage for a more systematic flow by hosting information seminars attended by Indian businesspersons and prospective students in Delhi and Hyderabad. Already a number of students have indicated their intention to come to Canada for flight training. Seminars and follow up meetings also helped ATAC Schools succeed in their objective of gathering valuable market intelligence.

A typical international student pilot not only contributes to the local economy but also spends in the range of $40,000 to $50,000 CDN in flight training costs alone. A more systematic flow of students assists ATAC schools to acquire the technology and capital equipment to remain competitive in the international market. 

“Because the ATAC Schools are sharing information with each other, when Indian Aviation talks to one of the ATAC Schools, Indian Aviation talks to all schools in this project. This cooperative approach provides Indian operators with a highly efficient way of communicating their training needs. There is no doubt that this mission was the first of many more and kicks off a 5 year strategic plan” stated Wayne Gouveia, Vice-President of Commercial General Aviation.

For more information, please contact:

Wayne Gouveia

Telephone: 613-233-7727

wgouveia@atac.ca