Akasa SkyCadet, Air India and IndiGo Cadet Pilot Programmes (2026 Guide)

What a cadet programme is (and isn't)

An airline cadet programme is an ab-initio route: the airline selects you first, then a partner school trains you for a CPL and, usually, a type rating on the airline's aircraft. If you pass every stage, the airline intends to take you on as a first officer.

In India these programmes are self-funded. You pay the full cost, usually in instalments, and many students take a loan. A letter of intent (LOI) is a conditional intention to employ you, not a job guarantee: failing a stage or a medical can end it. Read the training agreement and any bond carefully before you sign.

Quick comparison

• Akasa SkyCadet: Boeing 737 MAX. Age 18 at application to 40 at enrolment. 10+2 with Physics, Maths and English. Training at Dunes Aviation Academy (Bhavnagar) and Skynex Aero (Jalgaon). Fee shared in the application form. Status: applications closed.
• Air India: Airbus fleet. Age 18–30. 60% overall in 10+2 and 60% each in English, Maths and Physics. Ground school in Gurugram, flying at the Air India Flying Academy, Amravati. Published estimate about ₹1.1 crore before GST. Status: "stay tuned" on the portal.
• IndiGo: Airbus A320. Age limits set by each partner (commonly 18–40). Usually 51% each in Physics, Maths and English. Training with partner schools in India and abroad. Fees roughly ₹95 lakh–₹1.1 crore depending on partner. Status: varies by partner; check each one.

Akasa Air SkyCadet programme

SkyCadet is Akasa's first ab-initio programme. It trains cadets for the right seat of its Boeing 737 MAX fleet in three phases: ground school, CPL flight training to DGCA/ICAO standards, and a B737 MAX type rating.

Training partners named by Akasa are Dunes Aviation Academy in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, and Skynex Aero in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, so the flying phase is in India.

• Nationality: Indian citizens only.
• Age: at least 18 when you apply and no more than 40 when you enrol.
• Education: 10+2 with Physics, Mathematics and English.
• English: good spoken and written English.
• Other: no criminal record; DGCA medical fitness is required before flying.
• Fee: Akasa shares the fee only inside the application form. Training-industry reports put the total at roughly ₹97 lakh to ₹1.06 crore over about two years (around 4 months of ground school, 18 months of flying and 2 months of type rating). Treat those as estimates until you see the official figure.
• Status (10 Nov 2026): applications are closed. Akasa warns that it does not use agents and does not ask for payment outside its official process.

• Akasa Air SkyCadet programme (official)

Air India cadet pilot programme

Air India trains its cadets largely in-house. After a compulsory ground school in Gurugram, cadets fly at the Air India Flying Academy (AIFA) in Amravati, Maharashtra, a residential campus with its own fleet of training aircraft and simulators. Air India has also used US partners for earlier batches. The type rating is done at Air India's affiliated training centres.

Air India's own Amravati page gives the timeline: about 6 months of ground school in Gurugram (compulsory even if you have already passed DGCA papers), about 12 months of flying at Amravati, and about 8 months for licence issue, ATPL ground school and type rating, roughly 26 months in all.

• Nationality: Indian citizen or OCI cardholder.
• Age: 18 to 30.
• Education: 10+2 (NIOS accepted) with at least 60% overall and at least 60% each in English, Mathematics and Physics.
• Medical: DGCA Class 1 before flight training.
• Reapplying: allowed after a 3-month cooling period.
• Selection: online application, then technical evaluation, then non-technical evaluation (interview and assessments).
• Published fee estimate (2025, Amravati): ground school ₹3,27,000 plus GST; flight training ₹76,00,000 (paid in five instalments of ₹15,20,000 at signing and at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months); ATPL ground school about ₹1,25,000 plus GST; type rating about ₹30,00,000 plus GST. Total about ₹1.1 crore before GST.
• Status (10 Nov 2026): the cadet portal asks applicants to stay tuned; no intake is open.

• Air India cadet pilot portal (official)
• Air India Flying Academy, Amravati (official)

IndiGo cadet pilot programme

IndiGo runs the largest cadet scheme in India, but it does not train cadets itself. You apply through one of its partner flying schools, which runs the selection with IndiGo, trains you for a CPL and arranges the A320 type rating at an IndiGo-approved centre. Successful cadets join as first officers on the A320 family.

IndiGo's careers page lists its current partners as Skyborne Airline Academy, Flight Training Adelaide, Insight Flight Training, Chimes Aviation Academy, Garuda Aviation Academy and Marigold. CAE has also run an IndiGo programme. Each partner sets its own intake dates, age limit and fee, so compare them one by one.

• Nationality: Indian citizens (some partners say anyone with the right to live and work in India).
• Age: set by the partner. Skyborne, Insight, Chimes and Garuda currently accept 18–40; CAE's page says 18–35. Older partner documents used 18–32, so always check the current page.
• Education: 10+2 with at least 51% (or GP 6 / C1) individually in Physics, Mathematics and English.
• Medical: DGCA Class 2 before selection at most partners, Class 1 before training or the LOI.
• Selection: online aptitude test (ADAPT, sometimes CASS), then group exercise, interview and simulator or practical assessment. Skyborne says the LOI from IndiGo comes before training starts.
• Example fees: CAE lists ₹97,26,800 for its IndiGo programme with about 16 months of CPL training; Chimes (CAA India) lists about ₹1.04 crore over about 20 months. International partners such as Skyborne, Marigold, Garuda and Insight have been reported at roughly US$127,000–132,000. Assessment fees are charged separately at most partners.
• Status: varies. Some partners (Skyborne, for example) are taking registrations; others open batches a few times a year.

• IndiGo careers and cadet partners (official)
• Skyborne IndiGo programme
• CAE IndiGo Cadet Pilot Programme

How to choose between them

• Age first: if you are over 30, Air India's programme is closed to you; IndiGo partners and Akasa go up to 40.
• Marks second: Air India needs 60% in each core subject; IndiGo partners need 51%.
• Where you will fly: Akasa and Air India train in India; several IndiGo partners train abroad (UK, US, Australia, Europe), which adds a DGCA licence conversion step.
• Aircraft: B737 MAX at Akasa, Airbus at Air India and IndiGo. A type rating usually ties you to that family for the first years.
• Money: compare the full cost, the instalment schedule, what is excluded (GST, accommodation, assessment fees, re-tests) and any service bond.
• Timing: none of these intakes is permanent. Register for alerts on the official pages and keep your documents and medical ready.

How to prepare for selection

All three selections test the same foundations: school-level Physics and Maths, English, mental arithmetic, spatial and multitasking aptitude, and an interview about why you want to fly for that airline. Candidates who have already studied for DGCA papers usually find the technical rounds easier, even though most programmes don't give formal credit for passed papers.

Practising DGCA Air Navigation, Meteorology and Technical General questions is one of the best ways to sharpen the technical rounds, and timed mocks train the speed the aptitude tests demand.

• The 2026–27 pilot hiring wave: what it means for CPL students
• What airlines actually ask in a pilot interview

Avoid agents and fake offers

Genuine airline programmes do not need an agent, and IndiGo and Akasa state publicly that they never ask for money to secure a seat or a job. Pay only the official training partner, only after a written agreement, and only through the payment route named on the official page. Fees and dates in this guide come from the airlines' and training partners' public pages and from published reports, checked on 10 November 2026. They change often, and the official pages always win. CPLGrid is not affiliated with Akasa Air, Air India, IndiGo or any training partner.