Air India Pilot Interview Prep: Psychometric, Interview, Simulator (2026 Guide)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

Air India names its selection stages in its own adverts. For type-rated First Officers and Captains, the Air India Group’s postings list four: a psychometric assessment, a personal interview, a simulator flight proficiency test and a pre-employment medical examination. For CPL holders, its Trainee Pilot Programme describes a non-technical evaluation with a personal interview, then a technical evaluation in a simulated scenario; the A320 Trainee Pilot posting of December 2025 also named a written test and a group discussion. Its 2026 Cadet Pilot Program, for candidates with no flying, ran a screening, an online assessment of cognitive and behavioural skills and a personal interview. Every type-rated door asks for an Indian licence with the type already on it, so the simulator test is flown on an aircraft you know. This guide sets out which door fits you, then each stage and how to prepare for it.

Note on command: since August 2026, Air India pilots who want a first command move to Air India Express, under a common seniority pool across the two airlines, and serve at least two years at a base it assigns (Outlook Business and Aviation A2Z, August 2026). Expect that to come up when the panel asks where you see yourself.

At the last check, on 15 October 2026, Air India’s careers portal listed four pilot postings, all of them for Air India Express and with no closing date: A320 and B737 type-rated First Officers and Senior First Officers, A320 type-rated Captains, and B737 type-rated and non-type-rated (transition) Captains, dated 4 to 11 October 2026 in the portal’s job feed. The Trainee Pilot Programme page said to stay tuned for upcoming opportunities, and the 2026 Cadet Pilot Program posting showed as filled (its window closed on 15 September 2026). Check the airline pilot jobs board for the current position.

About Air India

The Air India Group is two airlines. Air India, the full-service carrier, absorbed Vistara on 12 November 2024, and Air India Express, the low-cost carrier, absorbed AIX Connect on 1 October 2024 (Air India press releases). Air India flies the A320 family, the A350-900, the 777-300ER and the 787-8 and 787-9; Air India Express flies 737-8s and 737-800s alongside A320s. The group has grown to nearly 300 aircraft since Tata took control in January 2022, and its firm orders since 2023 total 600 aircraft (Aviation A2Z, August 2026). The bases in our record are Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, with Kochi among Air India Express’s, and the adverts are listed at Gurugram, the head office, with the place of posting flexible or as the company requires.

The seats open to outside applicants are type-rated, on the A320 or the 737, for First Officers, Senior First Officers and Captains, with a non-type-rated 737 Captain route for experienced commanders; at the last check all four postings were for Air India Express. Low-hour pilots come in through the Air India Group Trainee Pilot Programme, for CPL holders, on the A320 and 737 fleets, or through the Cadet Pilot Program, which the cadet pays for. Wide-body seats are where Air India, rather than Air India Express, offers progression.

Which door fits you

Three points decide most applications. Hours after line release: the A320 First Officer advert counts 500 hours flown on the A320 family after you were released to the line, so the type-rating course and line training do not count, and the B737 advert 100 hours of airline flying on the 737 after line release; a pilot with a fresh rating looks at the Trainee Pilot Programme instead, when it opens. Hard age limits: 40 at most for type-rated First Officers, 30 for trainee pilots (40 for employees and ex-defence) and cadets, 60 for transition Captains and 62 for type-rated Captains; the adverts state them as maximum ages, not preferences. An Indian licence and an Indian passport or OCI card: the adverts ask for a DGCA licence with the type endorsed on it and a current instrument rating and proficiency check, ICAO English Level 4 or above endorsed on the licence, a DGCA Class 1, an FRTOL and radio licence and an eGCA ID, and they are open to Indian nationals and Overseas Citizens of India only.

Every one of the four adverts, for First Officers and Captains alike, also asks for a certificate of an incident and accident-free record, the breath-analyser record and details of any DGCA enforcement action against the licence, and gives preference to candidates who can join immediately.

What sets Air India apart for a pilot

• The stages are published. The type-rated adverts name all four, in order, so you know the psychometric assessment comes before anyone interviews you.
• The simulator is on your own type. Every type-rated route asks for the rating already, so the test is flown on the A320 or the 737 you hold.
• Command runs through Air India Express. Since August 2026, a first command means a move to Air India Express and at least two years at a base it assigns.
• Hard age limits. They differ by route, from 30 for trainees and cadets to 62 for type-rated Captains.
• You bring your record. An incident and accident-free certificate, the breath-analyser record and any DGCA enforcement action, with the application, for First Officers and Captains alike.
• Immediate joiners preferred. All four adverts say so; raise a long notice period early.

The published stages

The type-rated First Officer and Captain adverts name four stages. They do not describe what each one contains, so the second column below is preparation advice, not a description of Air India’s format.

Two things follow from the order. The psychometric assessment comes before you meet anyone from Air India, so it decides who reaches the panel; treat it as the first test, not a formality. And the simulator test comes after the interview, on a type you are already rated on, so prepare to be judged as a line pilot on that type, not as a trainee.

The trainee pilot and cadet selections

Air India’s Trainee Pilot Programme page (read on 15 October 2026) describes the selection for CPL holders as an online application with documents, a non-technical evaluation of behaviour and critical aspects followed by a personal interview, a technical evaluation of decision-making and problem-solving in a simulated scenario, and the pre-employment medical; a rejected candidate waits at least 180 days to apply again. Its A320 Trainee Pilot posting of December 2025, with no minimum hours stated, named six stages: a written test, a psychometric assessment, a group discussion, a personal interview, a simulator proficiency assessment check and a pre-employment medical (the posting as search results showed it, and afm.aero; Air India’s page for it now shows the position as filled). The 2026 Cadet Pilot Program posting, as search results showed it before it too was filled, named three: screening against the eligibility criteria, an online assessment of cognitive and behavioural skills, and a personal interview for those who clear it, with a DGCA Class 1 to pass before flight training. Indian training guides add a group discussion to the cadet selection and describe the online assessment as an Aon test of aptitude, personality and English; Air India’s own posting names neither, so prepare for both.

The psychometric assessment

Air India does not describe its psychometric assessment. Airline batteries typically combine timed numerical, verbal and abstract reasoning with spatial orientation, memory and multitasking tasks, usually with a personality questionnaire (the Library covers pilot aptitude tests). Practise the skills rather than one product: mental arithmetic without a calculator, reading instruments against the clock, and spatial and reasoning tasks, in short sessions over a few weeks. A personality questionnaire has no right answers to learn, so answer it quickly and honestly.

The simulator flight proficiency test

The adverts name a simulator flight proficiency test, and the A320 Captain advert says the company will name the centre where it is held; none of them describes the profile, the device or whether you fly with another candidate. Because every type-rated route asks for the rating already, expect it on the A320 or the 737 you fly, judged against that type’s standard procedures; a transition Captain without the 737 rating should ask which device and type the test uses. Prepare for the shape most airline simulator assessments share: a briefing on the numbers to fly, then upper air work, a hold, an ILS to minimums with a missed approach and often an engine failure, flown as one of a two-pilot crew (the Library’s guide to the airline simulator assessment walks through each part).

What to practise

• The briefing. Brief as your operator briefs, and write down any pitch and thrust figures you are given: they are the numbers to fly.
• Raw data. Practise level-offs, steep turns and a hand-flown ILS without the flight director, with the scan centred on the attitude indicator (see instrument scan technique).
• Both roles. As pilot monitoring you are assessed too: standard callouts, checklists, and calling deviations early (see crew coordination, briefings and callouts).
• The engine failure after V1. Directional control with rudder, rotation at VR and not before, positive climb and gear up, then identification and confirmation with the other pilot before anything is shut down (see engine failure and engine fire).
• Non-normals by the book. On the A320, the ECAM sequence; on the 737, the checklist from the QRH. Say what you see, confirm it, then act (see the A320 ECAM and warning system).

A Captain applicant should expect the session to test command as much as handling: a clear briefing, a decision made and explained, and a First Officer who is used rather than bypassed.

The interview and the group discussion

The personal interview

Air India publishes nothing on the interview’s format. Expect questions about your career and your motivation, your type, and competency questions that ask for a real past event: a mistake you made, a disagreement with a colleague, a time you saw something unsafe, a decision taken on incomplete information. Answer with the STAR structure (situation, task, action, result), keep each story short and true, and show ownership rather than blame. Prepare eight to ten stories that cover the common themes, and raise anything in your record yourself, such as a failed check: a panel that finds it later will assume it was hidden. The Library sets out the method in competency-based pilot interviews.

The group discussion

The A320 Trainee Pilot selection of December 2025 included a group discussion, as its posting was indexed, and training guides describe one in the cadet selection too. Several candidates are given a topic or a problem and a fixed time, and assessors watch how each one contributes, listens and helps the group reach a conclusion; the loudest voice earns nothing for being loud, and a silent candidate leaves them with no evidence. Check that everyone has understood the task, make your point once with a reason, build on someone else’s idea, bring a quiet member in, keep the time in view, and back the conclusion once it is reached.

Questions particular to Air India

• Why Air India, and which airline? Know the difference between Air India and Air India Express, which one the vacancy is at, and three reasons for it that are true for both sides. Not led by pay.
• Command and base. Under the August 2026 framework, a first command runs through Air India Express, with at least two years at a base it assigns. Have an honest answer about moving.
• Duty and fatigue. DGCA’s revised flight duty rules were phased in between 1 July and 1 November 2025, with 48 hours of weekly rest and tighter limits on night duty. Know the basics, and talk about fatigue as a crew member managing it (the Library covers fatigue).
• Safety and reporting. Air India lost a 787-8 at Ahmedabad on 12 June 2025 (flight AI171). At the last check, on 15 October 2026, the website of India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau listed a preliminary report and an interim statement on the investigation, but no final report; the bureau told the Supreme Court that a draft final report was expected in October 2026 (Telangana Today, 4 August 2026). If it comes up, do not speculate on the cause: talk about what you do as a crew member to keep an operation safe, and about reporting.
• Your record. Every applicant supplies the incident and accident record, the breath-analyser record and any enforcement action; know every entry, and every figure in your logbook, before the panel does.
• Your English. ICAO Level 4 is the minimum endorsed on your licence, but every answer shows how clearly you communicate.

Technical questions

Air India publishes no technical test, but the interview and the simulator both draw on your type, and the A320 Trainee Pilot posting of December 2025 opened with a written test. A type-rated First Officer should expect the A320 in depth; a Captain applicant, the A320 or the 737 and the judgment that goes with command; a cadet, timed reasoning rather than aircraft systems. If you do not know an answer, say so, then explain what you do know and where you would find the rest.

A320 family questions

1. Normal, alternate and direct law: what takes you from one to the next, and which protections do you lose? (see A320 flight control laws and protections)
2. The green, blue and yellow hydraulic systems: what powers each, and what does the power transfer unit do? (see the A320 hydraulic system)
3. How does ECAM present a failure, and in what order do you deal with it? (see the A320 ECAM and warning system)
4. The ceo and the neo share one type rating: what changes for the crew? (see the A320ceo to neo course)

737 questions (Air India Express)

1. Systems A and B and the standby system: what does each power, and how is the aircraft flown if A and B are both lost? (see the 737 hydraulic system)
2. What do the two STAB TRIM cutout switches do, and what changed in the pitch system from the 737-800 to the 737-8? (see pitch control and stabiliser trim and the 737 NG to MAX module on MCAS and stabiliser trim)

787 questions (for the wide-body seats)

1. The 787 has almost no bleed air: what pressurises the cabin and starts the engines instead? (see the 787 no-bleed architecture)
2. Where does the 787’s electrical power come from, and why does so much of the aircraft depend on it? (see the 787 electrical system)

Weather and operations in India

1. Monsoon thunderstorms: how far do you stay from a cell, and what does the weather radar not show you? (see thunderstorms)
2. Windshear and microbursts: the signs, and the escape manoeuvre (see windshear and microbursts)
3. Winter fog in northern India: how radiation fog forms, and what low-visibility operations ask of the crew (see fog and low visibility operations)

Theory worth refreshing

1. V1, VR and V2, and what V1 commits you to (see takeoff speeds)
2. The go-around: thrust, attitude, flap and gear, and who may call it (see go-around and missed approach)
3. Threat and error management, the frame for most CRM scenario questions (see threat and error management)
4. Decode a METAR and TAF (drill it with our ATPL meteorology questions)

What v1prep has for Air India’s fleet

Where Air India candidates go wrong

1. Counting total hours where line-release hours are asked. The First Officer figure is time on the A320 family after line release.
2. Missing an age limit by months. The limits are stated as limits; check your age against the route on the day you apply.
3. Taking the psychometric assessment cold. It is the first stage and comes before any interview.
4. Flying the simulator test like a check you can talk through. It is flown on your own type, so standard procedures and callouts are expected as your operator flies them.
5. Dominating, or disappearing, in the group discussion. Assessors watch how you contribute, listen and help the group conclude.
6. Stories that do not survive a follow-up question. Keep them true, specific and your own.
7. Paperwork left late. Your DGCA licence with the type endorsed, the English Level on it, the Class 1, the FRTOL and radio licence, the eGCA ID and the record certificates: documents that do not match what you declared can end an application at the last stage.

From application to a joining date

Air India publishes the order of its stages but no timings. What is known:

For cadets the timeline is longer. Air India’s own flying school at Amravati, announced in 2024 to train up to 180 pilots a year, was still working towards operational flight training in August 2026, as afm.aero reported, with an 18-month syllabus of 200 flight hours to the licence before the type rating at Air India’s training academy in Gurugram. Keep your medical valid and your theory sharp while you wait, whichever door you are at.

Air India pilot selection: common questions

The hours, licence, medical and nationality rules are on our Air India pilot requirements page; the questions below are about the selection itself.

What is the Air India pilot selection process?

For type-rated First Officers and Captains, Air India’s adverts name four stages: a psychometric assessment, a personal interview, a simulator flight proficiency test and a pre-employment medical examination. For CPL holders, its Trainee Pilot Programme describes a non-technical evaluation with a personal interview and a technical evaluation in a simulated scenario, and its A320 Trainee Pilot posting of December 2025 also named a written test and a group discussion; its 2026 Cadet Pilot Program ran a screening, an online assessment of cognitive and behavioural skills and a personal interview.

What is in the Air India psychometric assessment?

Air India does not describe it. Airline batteries typically combine timed numerical, verbal and abstract reasoning with spatial, memory and multitasking tasks and a personality questionnaire. Practise mental arithmetic and spatial and reasoning tasks against the clock over a few weeks, and answer any personality questionnaire quickly and honestly.

What is the Air India simulator test?

The third published stage, a simulator flight proficiency test; the A320 Captain advert says the company names the centre. Air India does not publish the profile. Every type-rated route asks for the rating already, so expect it on your own type, flown by the book: briefings, raw-data flying, standard callouts, and the engine failure after V1, in both roles.

Is there a group discussion in the Air India selection?

In the A320 Trainee Pilot selection of December 2025, yes: the posting, as search results showed it, named a group discussion between the psychometric assessment and the interview. The type-rated First Officer and Captain adverts do not name one, and the 2026 cadet posting named none, although Indian training guides describe one in the cadet selection.

Do I have to move to Air India Express to become a Captain?

Under the framework Air India introduced in August 2026, yes for a first command: eligible pilots move to Air India Express, which flies the narrow-bodies, under a common seniority pool, and serve at least two years at a base it assigns. Air India itself offers progression to the wide-bodies.