Cadet pilot programmes in India
In 2026, a running airline cadet pilot programme in India costs ₹89.5 lakhPublished at SpiceJet and ₹1.04 to about ₹1.10 crorePublished at IndiGo, type rating included.
The programmes and their figures.
Every Indian cadet programme is paid for by the cadet's family, not by the airline. The money buys a set path, a type rating with that airline and, on a letter of intent, a First Officer's seat there.
Cadets who have finished report final totals of ₹1.2 to ₹1.6 croreReported once extra flying hours, tax, living costs and a rupee that slipped against a dollar-priced fee are counted.
Airlines and schools change fees without notice, so confirm yours before you pay.
What a cadet route buys, and what it leaves open.
What it buys
- An early answer: selection tells you whether this airline wants you before most of the money is spent.
- A set course to type rating in about 17 to 24 months, often flown abroad.
- A type rating the airline chose, on the aircraft it flies.
- A First Officer's seat at that airline when you complete the training, offered on a letter of intent (LOI).
Compared with training on your own, you pay more for a set route to one airline.
What it leaves open
- A legal guarantee. The letter of intent is not one, but the airlines have hired their cadets. SpiceJet's academy calls it an assured job; Akasa's page says finishing does not guarantee one.
- The joining date. Cadets report waits of six months to two years between finishing and their first line flight.
- Leaving. ALPA India, the pilots' association, said in July 2026 that cadet bonds run three years or more. Students report longer ones. DGCA's rules say a co-pilot must give at least six months' notice before leaving an airline, and a commander at least one year.
What selection usually looks like.
- Online application
- Screening test
- Computerised aptitude, which is ADAPT on IndiGo's route
- Psychometric stage
- Group exercise
- Interview
- A DGCA medical
Every route needs a Class 1 medical before the licence is issued. Akasa and SpiceJet accept a Class 2 at selection. IndiGo accepts a Class 2 to apply and wants the Class 1 before training starts. Air India wants it before flight training.
Airlines make you wait months before a second attempt, so the time to prepare is before the first. The ADAPT preparation guide covers IndiGo's test.
What no airline puts in writing up front.
- Bond terms. The length and the penalty are in the contract you sign, not on any public page.
- Tax on tuition. Every sheet says plus applicable taxes and stops.
- A programme total. IndiGo and Air India publish none in their own name.
- Eligibility that lasts. Cut-offs move between intakes. Read the advertisement for yours.
- Vistara. It merged into Air India in November 2024, so its route is now Air India's programme.
Before you sign a cadet contract.
Get the bond, the notice period, the refund terms and the currency of every instalment in writing, and plan your money as if the wait after training will happen. The DGCA papers are the same on every route, and you can start them free while you decide.
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