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EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW: PARAMOUNT AIRWAYSMany of the corporate flyers would traveleconomy on other airlines, paying towardsthe top end of the listed fare because theynormally book at short notice and can’t getbig discounts.While other airlines complain aboutcongested airports and infrastructureconstraints, Paramount remains happy withits lot.These potential problems were includedin the carrier’s business plan. “As a shrewdbusinessman there is no point in getting intoa new business and then complaining there isa problem with infrastructure and a problemwith this and that. Ultimately, if you jumpinto the water you have to swim in it,” saidThiagarajan.“We knew there were going to beinfrastructure problems and bottlenecks.So we carefully factored them all into ourbusiness plan. That’s why today we are notdirectly hitting Mumbai and Delhi. That’swhy we are giving equal prominence tosecondary cities, which is where I see the realpotential for growth in the years to come.”Although the airline does not release fullfinancial results, Thiagarajan readily admitsthe balance book remains in the red, althoughall routes that have been operated for moreParamount’s first Embraer 170:it will soon have a 20-strong fleetthan six months are showing a profit.“We are introducing new flights almostevery month and obviously when you start,it takes time to stabilize. As an organizationwe are yet to show a positive bottom line,”he said.Although it remains a small operator,Paramount has gained recognition on theinternational stage.Thiagarajan flew to Frankfurt, Germany,last month to receive a prestigiousInternational Arch of Europe award forbusiness innovation and quality, in this casefor the carrier’s HVC business model.The world is beginning to take note of thelittle carrier with big ambitions.Trainers step up the paceBy Tom BallantyneCanadian simulator and traininggroup CAE is to build a US$20million centre in Bangalorethat will ultimately train 1,000cockpit crew a year – the samenumber estimated to be needed by India’s carriersannually as they take delivery of an additional400 aircraft over the next five years.The centre, which will open before the endof this year, will be operated in co-operationwith Airbus. It also will offer cabin crew andmaintenance training as well as flight operationssupport on A320 and B737 aircraft, which makeup the bulk of India’s domestic fleet.Jeff Roberts, CAE’s group president,innovation and civil training and services,said the facility will be close to Bangalore International Airport atDevanahalli and also serve operators in the surrounding region.“We realized the strategic importance of opening a training centrein India. The Indian aviation industry is growing rapidly and facessignificant pilot shortages. Establishing this training centre further20 ORIENT AVIATION INDIA MARCH 2007strengthens our relationship with our Indiancustomers,” he said.CAE has been in the Indian market for thelast 35 years, traditionally with Air India andIndian, and more recently through Jet Airways,Air Deccan, SpiceJet, Indigo, Air Sahara andKingfisher Airlines.Its decision underscores the heightenedinterest in ramping up training facilities.In December, Airbus announced it plannedto more than double its investment in India to $1billion in the next 10 years.Some $300 million of that will be spent ona separate pilot training centre and another$250 million on an engineering facility inCAE’s Jeff Roberts: meeting Bangalore.the needMeanwhile, Boeing has also announced itwill spend $185 million to set up a maintenance,repair and overhaul (MRO) facility and an aeronautical and flighttraining centre at Nagpur.Several foreign flight academies, including a number fromthe U.S., Australia and Europe, are known to be negotiating withprospective Indian partners to open flight schools.