Air India Orders 34 Trainer Aircraft For It’s Upcoming Flying School, The Largest In South Asia

• Air India orders 34 trainer aircraft, including 31 single-engine aircraft from Piper Aircraft and 3 twin-engine aircraft from Diamond Aircraft. Delivery of the aircraft will begin in 2025, strengthening Air India’s commitment to power India’s aviation ecosystem in the coming years.

Air India, India’s leading global airline, has placed an order for 34 trainer aircraft as it prepares to start training of cadet pilots at South Asia’s largest Flying Training Organisation (FTO) coming up in Amravati, Maharashtra by the second half of 2025, post regulatory approvals.

The order includes 31 single-engine aircraft from Piper Aircraft in the United States and 3 twin-engine aircraft from Diamond Aircraft in Austria.

Commitment to Aviation Training and Infrastructure

The FTO marks a leap forward in Air India’s commitment to strengthen its training infrastructure under the Vihaan.AI transformation program, cultivating a pipeline of pilots while expanding its fleet and becoming self-reliant.

The trainer aircraft, scheduled for delivery in 2025, will feature glass cockpits, G1000 avionics systems, and Jet A1 engines to provide advanced training for aspiring pilots.

The FTO will be located at Amravati’s Belora airport. It aims to graduate 180 commercial pilots annually.

“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. With this order of 34 trainer aircraft to support South Asia’s largest Flying Training Organisation, we are delighted to be playing a part in building the aviation infrastructure India needs as one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets and to support the government’s vision for an Atmanirbhar Bharat,” said Sunil Bhaskaran, Director, Aviation Academy, Air India.

Air India’s Investment in Aviation Training

As part of its commitment to invest in aviation training, Air India opened its new Aviation Training Academy in Gurugram, spread over 600,000 sq ft, the largest in South Asia. It is also the first airline in India to announce the setting up of an FTO that will complement Air India’s commitment to power India’s aviation ecosystem in the coming years.

At the FTO in Amravati, Air India is developing a state-of-the-art training institute. It will span 10 acres and feature digitally enabled classrooms, hostels, a digitized operations center, and its own maintenance facility. The FTO is curated to deliver best-in-class training with high safety standards. Read about the scrapped India-Russia aircraft deal and fleet upgrades.

About Air India group

The Air India group includes the full-service global airline Air India and the low-cost regional carrier Air India Express. It is leading a new era in Indian aviation. Air India’s journey began in 1932 when JRD Tata piloted its inaugural flight. This opened the skies for Indian aviation. Today, the group employs over 30,000 people. It operates more than 300 aircraft and serves 55 domestic and 48 international destinations across five continents.

In 2022, Air India returned to Tata Sons after 70 years under government ownership. The group is now undergoing a five-year transformation program called Vihaan.AI. As part of this, Air India placed the largest-ever order for 470 new aircraft in 2023. In 2024, Air India merged sister airlines Air Asia India and Vistara into Air India Express and Air India, respectively. The airline also opened South Asia’s largest aviation training academy. A new flying school will open in 2025. Construction of a greenfield maintenance base, to be operational in 2026, is underway. All existing aircraft are being progressively refitted with new interiors.

With transformation underway across all facets of the business and India’s rich legacy of hospitality, Air India is committed to being a world-class global airline with an Indian heart.