CHENNAI: The 104-year-old diversified Coimbatore-based Sakthi Group has ventured into aviation sector through Sakthi Aircraft Industry Pvt Ltd (SAIPL), which, in collaboration with Austria’s Diamond Aircraft Industries, is pioneering India’s first private trainer aircraft manufacturing facility at Tirupur, entailing an investment of Rs 750 crore.
Through this partnership, SAIPL will manufacture and deliver Diamond DA40 NG in India and also offer Diamond’s other aircraft models to domestic customers. It will be complemented by a range of services including maintenance, support, training and spares for all Diamond aircraft.
Sakthi Group chairman M Manickam, told DT Next on Sunday, that it has entered into a 25-year licensing agreement with Diamond Aircraft to manufacture the training aircraft. “We are expecting to start delivery of aircraft in the first quarter of 2026,” he said, adding initially it will start operating on 80,000 sq ft space in its foundry at Tirupur.
Noting that the step-by-step process involves transporting through containers to airfields to assembly operations, Manickam said “we are also looking at three to four airfields for this purpose. Tamil Nadu will be a major location while airfields in north will be used to support our maintenance and service operations.”
The investment will be met through internal accruals and debt, he said, adding the deal with Diamond dates back to about two years ago, when the Sakthi Group saw an opportunity in manufacturing training aircraft for use in flying schools.
SAIPL has already started sourcing talent as it has put a 40-member team in place in this phase of operations. “Right now the first batch consists of people from all over India predominantly south but over time we will be ramping up that would mean a team of 300-400 people,” Manickam said.
India is one of the fastest growing aircraft market, with domestic airliners placing orders for delivery of 2,500 aircraft over five years. To service an aircraft, 20 pilots are required so that they can meet the three hours per day flying rules against the current practise of 15-18 hours duties.
“The demand for pilots is 50,000, which means training 8,000 to 10,000 every year and typically, the cost of training ranges from Rs 65 lakh to Rs 1 crore in India and Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2 crore outside,” he said adding there is a shortage of at least 7,000 pilots in India given that India produces only 700-800 pilots every year.
SAIPL is targeting 39 Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) across 50 locations in the country to begin its delivery. “We are looking at 50-60 aircraft in the fist year before we ramp up,” Manickam said, adding it would not be possible to talk about any topline figures since the dollar rupee fluctuations have to be taken into account.
On indigenisation, he said, the aircraft manufacturing is a critical business that involves rigorous safety and certification procedures.
Labour is the only element offering scope for localisation, backed by the technology transfer pact with Diamond, he sought to point out.
It relies on roping in retired Air Force personnel to build its talent pool as the 2,000 man hours per aircraft is the requirement which means 16,000 man hours for 8 aircraft, he said, adding there are only 4-5 aircraft available with a flying school. The demand gap is 1,600 aircraft, as there are only 300 flying training aircraft in the country.
Also, the company would focus on aviation turbine fuelled aircraft and not in any hurry to evaluate the electrification option.
For the maintenance, repair and overhaul or MRO business, the group has a joint venture with Italy’s Atitech, under which Akash Sakthi Aviation holds 40 per cent stake.