Dreaming high

Washington, June 28: More than 100 Indian students in California have been left high and dry after a flying school in which they enrolled virtually shut shop leaving behind debts all round.

The students, who shelled out about $40,000 each in the hope of finding jobs as pilots in India’s booming civil aviation industry, were evicted from their accommodation yesterday after officials in Merced County — where the school is located — pleaded their inability to continue water and electricity supplies to the building unless the school settled outstanding utility bills.

Officials of the Indian consulate general in San Francisco, who rushed to Merced County in response to pleas from the students, negotiated with local officials who agreed on Thursday to allow the students to stay in their accommodations for 30 more days if they shelled out $7,000 in part payment of outstanding utility bills.

The students said they initially agreed to the offer, but later went back on it after a consensus that they saw little point in throwing good money after bad and that it was better to cut their already substantial losses.

About 30 of the students have taken up an offer from “Prince” Singh, who runs the school’s day-to-day affairs, to have them enrolled in another flying school in California. They left with Singh for Sacramento yesterday, but the remaining 70-plus Indian students turned down the offer ostensibly because they have no faith in him after their bitter experience with his American School of Aviation.

In addition to the Indians, the school has a sprinkling of Japanese, Sri Lankans and Americans, who are in the same boat.

“Prince” Singh, whose real name is Manpreet Singh, has been described in the local media as the husband of Reny Kozman, vice-president of the American School of Aviation.

Efforts to verify Singh’s current nationality or immigration status in the US were unsuccessful.

The school’s website displays logos of Air India, Indian, Jet Airways, IndiGo, Spicejet and Kingfisher Airlines, among others, giving the impression that these airlines in India have an association with the American School of Aviation.

But the fine print, which is often not read by unsuspecting potential students or their parents, has a disclaimer that the display of these trademarks “does not imply any affiliation with these airlines nor implies that graduation from the American School of Aviation guarantees employment by these airlines”.

However, it is understood that Kingfisher Airlines issued a letter of intent to the school to consider employing pilots who obtain their flying licences through the American School of Aviation. Sources at the school said it began charging students $6,000 to $8,000 more if they came with a reference from Kingfisher Airlines after this letter of intent.

A posting by Meghan V. Dere, manager for human resources at Kingfisher Airlines on a website on June 2, however, said: “We have terminated our contract with the American School of Aviation in January 2008.”

Airlines in India are facing a severe shortage of pilots, which has opened up opportunities for unscrupulous recruiters to dupe young Indians looking for a career in aviation and openings in flying schools abroad.

There is a lot of sympathy in California for those suffering from the developments at the American School of Aviation. Officials there, including the director of Castle Airport in Merced County and Indian diplomats have been actively working to bring them relief.

But they are also warning Indians who are looking at the US for a career in aviation to make sure that they verify their destinations here and make sure that they are not being taken for a ride by unscrupulous people here or their agents in India.