The largest hospitality training institute in India with 40 centres in 31 cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Chandigarh, Frankfinn Institute of Air Hostess Training, Mumbai is experiencing exponential demand-led growth

The Mumbai-based Frankfinn Institute of Air Hostess Training (FIAT), which offers a 12-month diploma in aviation hospitality and travel management has hit the ground running since its promotion, given the runaway boom in civil aviation. “We have many firsts to our credit and the type of comprehensive training we provide isn’t available in any institution in South Asia. This is evidenced by our placement record. The number of Frankfinn students selected as air hostesses and flight stewards in international and domestic airlines is more than eight times that of any other academy/ institute in India. Moreover hundreds of our graduates are employed in five-star hotels, multinationals and reputed organisations,” says Rakesh Agarwal an alumnus of Boston University and promoter managing director of Frankfinn Aviation Services (Pvt) Ltd (incorporated 1993).

Agarwal takes pains to stress that despite its formal name, FIAT also provides study programmes in hospitality and travel management. “We train professionals for the entire hospitality industry,” he says. “Some confusion is created by the name of our division. But we named it Frankfinn Institute of Air Hostess Training because once a student completes our aviation training course, she is fully qualified for the hotels/ hospitality and travel industry as well,” adds Agarwal.

According to him FIAT is the largest hospitality training institute in India with 40 centres in 31 cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Chandigarh. While 35 centres are directly run by the company, five are franchise units, and FIAT ensures that all centres deliver standardised professional education. “FIAT accepts full responsibility for operations of all its centres whether self-managed or franchised. Tuition fees are collected in our name and we check our franchisees thoroughly to ensure they deliver quality training. As we are growing rapidly and with centres constantly opening all over the country, it’s difficult to give an exact count of our aggregate enrollment which is about 4,000 students across the country taught by experienced hospitality industry professionals,” says Agarwal.

The FIAT diploma programme which requires students to attend classes two hours a day, five days a week, is open to students between 17-26 years of age who have completed class XII. In addition, applicants should have a pleasing personality and communication skills. Course content covers in-flight cabin crew training which includes first aid, personality enhancement, personal grooming, hair and skin care, public relations, effective communication skills, customer service orientation, hotel services management, swimming (as per international airlines’ requirement), character enhancement, moral education and industrial training in a leading hotel or hospitality organisation.

“We also give our students exposure to the CRS (computerised reservation systems) of airlines and hotels like Galileo and Fidelio. Indeed FIAT is the only institute in the field which includes internship within the course content and provides in-flight cabin crew training to students on our own leased Airbus A-300 based in New Delhi. It enables students to acquire first-hand knowledge of a contemporary civilian airplane and experience the nuances of in-flight services. Being an IATA (International Air Transport Association) member we know exactly what should be included in our curriculum and have designed it according to the civil aviation industry’s requirements,” says Agarwal.

But perhaps the institute’s key strength is the placement services it offers its graduates and alumni. With a wide network of satisfied hotel and civil aviation companies and as publisher of Aviation Times, the management of FIAT has its ears to the ground regarding job openings. The company boasts a placement record of 90 percent in leading hotels, aviation and hospitality companies. Jet Airways, Gulf Air, Air India, Air Sahara and Singapore Airlines are among the high-profile civil aviation corporates which roll out the red carpet for FIAT graduates, as do well known hotel chains such as the Hyatt, the Oberoi and the Taj groups. “We are the only institute in this segment to have organised campus interviews for an international airlines company,” claims Agarwal. “Recently Yemen Airways camped for four days in our Mumbai office and recruited 45 air hostesses. I doubt if any other hospitality training institute can match this record,” says Agarwal.

With India’s civil aviation industry expanding rapidly, the demand for airline personnel is set to multiply exponentially. Therefore for FIAT the sky’s the limit.

Admission & fees

Admission into Frankfinn Institute of Airhostess Training is open to Plus Two graduates with a pleasing personality and good communication skills. Applications are accepted throughout the year and applicants between the ages 17-26 years can apply anytime during the year. Final selection is on the basis of a personal interview for the one-year diploma in aviation, hospitality and travel management.

Tuition fee: Rs.75,000

For further details log on to www.fiatfrankfinn.com

Gaver Chatterjee (Mumbai)

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