 Air Hostess Academy in Chennai
 The Air Hostess Academy (AHA), the pioneer institute that provides trained manpower to the service industry in India and the first to be accredited with an 150-9001:2002 certification, opened its branch in Chennai June 9. The opening of the Chennai branch is a part of AHA's expansion plans.
Currently AHA has its branches in Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Jaipur, Pune and Kolkata. With the opening of a new branch in Chennai, AHA is all set to consolidate its position in the southern region. The branch will be located at 56, Block A, Thirumalai Pillai Road, T
Nagar.
It will be equipped with an experienced faculty and adequate infrastructure for the training of the students. The AHA's Chennai operations would be headed by a franchisee managed by Pawan Gupta and
Vikas.
The Chennai branch will offer the following courses:
* Aviation and hospitality management (diploma course) - Duration - 1 year
* Diploma course in global aviation & hospitality management - Duration - 2 years
 Sapna Gupta, founder and chief consultant, AHA, said in Chennai, "After making its presence felt in northern, western and eastern India, our obvious target was to attract the best talent in south India. This is a very strategic move. Recruitment in the ITES sector is happening at a scorching pace of 7-9 per cent (Source: World Bank report 2004). So in order to stay ahead of our competitors and net more employment opportunities for our students, we must extend our investment and reach to other metropolitan
centres."
The Chennai branch had attracted over 2,000 applications within a week. About 250 persons would find a place in the short-list based on a screening process.
Sapna explained that the AHA Group was ready to join forces with franchisee partners in the western and southern regions if they shared in the vision and goals of AHA. "AHA is a very quality-conscious brand and we would not like to fritter away the goodwill that we have managed to generate over the past few years, to undeserving partners," she explained. This explains the reason for the group's decision to go slow and measured with the franchisee drive.
 The success of the AHA brand is evident from the group's meteoric growth - from a one-branch, boot-strap operation in 1997 to 15 well-equipped training centres all across India.
AHA's "A" level faculty, comprising serving and retired professionals, state-of-the-art infrastructure; and highly interactive, industry-relevant instruction mode and delivery mechanism is highly adequate in "job readying" youth to the exact specifications of the industry, Sapna said.
She added that "AHA also boasts of an unmatched placement record - AHA students get picked up by the country's leading airlines, hotels and BPO establishments, such as Jet Airways, Air Sahara, Indian Airlines, Air Deccan, Malaysian Airlines, Royal Dutch Airlines, Hotel Hyatt Regency, The Oberoi, Taj Mahal, Ashoka, Imperial, Maurya Sheraton, Crowne Plaza, Mariot, H.C.L, Convergys and Le Meridien, to name just a few."
 As international tourism expands and various foreign airlines and hotel chains set up shop in India through pro-industry policies such as the proposed hike in FDI cap, several more MNCs and BPOs are bound to make heavy investments in the training and retention of skilled manpower in India: "So, this is the time to grab this opportunity, take wings and kiss the skies. They are all looking forward to recruit well groomed and smart young candidates." Thus, this is just the right time for AHA to go ahead with its expansion plans and cater to the rising demands of the service industry.
"As our vision expands, our dreams get bigger, our ambitions higher, our commitment deeper and our efforts the greatest," sums up
Sapna.
Established in 1997, AHA offers courses specifically designed to meet the growing demand for trained manpower in the service sector, including aviation, hotel, air catering organisations, ground services, MNC and call centres. AHA is one of the pioneering institutes that "job-readies" youth for the services sector.
 AHA plans to invest anywhere between Rs 15 to 20 crore in opening more branches in India - possible locations Coimbatore, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad, besides overseas - at Dubai, Colombo, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius and Dhaka, and later move to Europe, Sapna said, adding that it was looking for internal generation of funds. The new branches in India and overseas would be in the franchisee model, with an investment of nearly Rs 1 crore at each centre. For more information, log on to
http://www.airhostessacademy.com
Sapna said there was a massive response from Chennai, both from students and parents as well as the industry since a large number of opportunities had cropped up in the aviation sector with more foreign airlines operating in the south than before. Chennai had opened up in the recent past and many talented students were interested in taking up careers in the aviation and hospitality sectors, she pointed out.
R Rangaraj
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