Type Rating

After completing CPL and required ratings, candidates are eligible to apply for jobs as an Airline First Officer. While CPL is a generic license that provides the privilege to fly any aircraft, some type specific training is required to qualify on a certain aircraft. Small aircrafts require a very short training while big commercial jets require a Type-Rating.

Type rating is a training certification for a particular type of airplane. DGCA requires this training for aircraft above maximum weight of 5,700 kg. All turbojet-powered aircraft require a type rating, regardless of MTOW. Most of the aircrafts above this weight are generally certified for multi-crew operations, meaning it requires a captain and a first officer. Both the captain and copilot need to hold the pilot type rating for that aircraft

This training is also important because above this weight, the complexity of systems and operating procedures are very significant and beyond the scope of the CPL training skills. Most of the pilots with type-rating can only fly one type of aircraft at a time. Senior pilots with years of experience have some exemptions where they can fly 2 different type of aircrafts of same manufacturer (e.g. A320 and A330).

Training Center

Training centers are called Type Rating Training Organization (TRTO). Legacy carriers generally have an in-house facility like Air India has CTE, Hyderabad. On the other hand, low-cost carriers like indigo, SpiceJet and go air have tied up with external organizations like CAE, Airbus and FSTC to meet their training demands. The TRTOs are very expensive to build and maintain, therefore low-cost airlines outsource their training there to achieve cost reduction and better utilization. India presently has the following TRTOs

	FSTC, Gurugram	Airbus A320 Boeing B737-800 ATR 72-600 Bombardier Q400
	CSTPL, Greater Noida	Airbus A320
	Air India, Mumbai	Airbus A320 Boeing B777 Boeing B787-800
	CTE, Air India, Hyderabad	Airbus A320 Boeing B777 Boeing B787 Boeing B737-800
	CAE, Bengaluru	Airbus A320 Boeing B737-800
	Hats Off Helicopter, Bengaluru	Airbus Dauphin (N/N2/N3) Bell 412 HAL Dhruv
	Airbus, Gurugram	Airbus A320 Airbus A320

Cost

Airlines in India require pilots to pay for their own type-rating before joining. Airlines like indigo conducts the selection process based on CPL and award offer of employment with condition of successfully completing A320 type-rating at company preferred training centers.

Another way is to get a type-rating without any airline selection. This is a risky choice as one has to commit for a specific aircraft type and hence specific airlines. On the other hand, this has proven to be very lucky for some pilots as airlines have at times conducted special screening for type-rated candidates during shortage of pilots. Type-rated pilots are equipped with all requirements and hence ready to join airline immediately.

One can choose between A320 or B737 as these are the most commonly flown aircraft in India. Most pilots go for A320 as it leads the Indian domestic market. The price of a type rating varies between different aircraft types and training centers. A typical jet aircraft type rating can cost between 10-18 lakhs.

Documents Required

Minimum Age - 18 Years

Valid CPL with ME & IR, Valid FRTOL & RTR

25 Hours on Multi Engine aircraft (10 Hours can be completed in an approved Simulator)

100 hours of PIC

Valid Class 1 Medical

Fluency in English (ICAO ELP Level 4)

Valid Passport

Course Overview

Ground school – around 15 days
Multi Crew Cooperation (MCC) training
Fixed base simulator (FBS) – 5 sessions (4 hours each)
Full flight simulator (FFS) – 9 sessions (4 hour each)
Final flying test in simulator – 2 sessions (4 hours each)
Briefing and De-briefing before and after the session to understand and analyze the session plan

Note: Above numbers are approximate and actual training profile will depend on aircraft specific and operator requirements

General Requirements on Date of Application

Ground school training

Technical (systems, techniques and policy)
Procedure Training
Performance
Mass & Balance

Simulator Training

Multi Crew Coordination (MCC)/ Jet orientation
Normal procedures
Abnormal and emergency procedures