Monday, July 20, 2020

This former pilot now wants to make Jet Airways fly again

What’s common between CE Woolman, Walter Varney and Alexis Felix du Pont Jr? They were all pilots who later founded or owned airlines. And now, Sanjay Mandavia may join this list. Founder of Flight Simulation Technique Centre (FSTC), claimed to be the country’s first standalone pilot training institute approved by regulators in India and Europe, Mandavia is in the race for Jet Airways.

There may be a slight difference; Woolman with Delta Air Lines, Varney with Continental and United Airlines, and du Pont Jr with what eventually became US Airways, were legendary founders or co-founders of these carriers and played a significant role in their growth. Mandavia has a similar opportunity in hand to grow an airline, although it may be equally challenging.

The FSTC founder, who has over 11,000 hours of flying, has formed a consortium with Imperial Capital Investments - an investment banking and wealth management provider based in Dubai - and Big Charter, which is owned by the Mandavia family.

There is another trivia that underlines Mandavia's unique position. He was also a captain with Jet Airways, before joining Kingfisher Airlines, where he was the DGCA-approved check pilot on the Airbus 330. Later in 2012, he founded FSTC, which has two training centres in Gurugram and Hyderabad and claims to have trained over 1,000 pilots in last eight years.
FSTC's Board includes DS Basraon, who was a senior commander with Kingfisher Airline and Vistara, and serial entrepreneur Ajay Relan.

If he does win the race for Jet Airways, Mandavia will be among the very few pilots in the aviation world, who went on to own an airline.

"Sanjay was always very entrepreneurial," said a senior industry executive who has worked with the FSTC founder. "Few pilots venture into management, and fewer start a company. This experience will come handy for him if he is successful with Jet Airways," added the executive, who didn't want to be named.
20/07/20 Prince Mathews/moneycontrol.com

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