Hi, I’m Captain Sameer Dogra. My zeal for flying can be traced back to my father, Capt. Ram Nath Dogra, who had over 50 years aviation experience. From flying 12 CMs of Gujarat, including Shri Narendra Modi, to spraying pesticides in different districts of Gujarat, and contributing to artificial rain-making experiments in drought-prone areas of Gujarat, my father has had a proud and lasting career in aviation. His achievements left an inspiring impression on me while I was growing up in Gujarat. With a passion for flying in my blood, I became determined to carry my family legacy forward and decided to pursue a career as an airline pilot.
After completing High School from Ahmedabad in the year 1993, I enrolled in Taneja Aerospace and Aviation (TAAL) near Bangalore in the year 1994 to obtain my Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL). I began by undertaking solo flights from TAAL and later joined AAA (Ahmedabad Aviation Academy) until completion of requisite hours to obtain my CPL in the year 1996.
I began charter flying on the Cessna 172, which is a 4-seater propeller aircraft for the AAA. It was the election season and I had the opportunity to fly to remote destinations across various parts of India. Finally, the moment I had always been waiting for arrived in the year 1998 when I started off my career by becoming an airline pilot.
Listed below are my career details as an airline pilot:
- Joined Air Sahara in the year 1998.
- Obtained a Boeing 737-200 endorsement, from Central Training Establishment (CTE), Hyderabad.
- Was appointed as First Officer in Air Sahara in February 1999.
- Obtained an endorsement for Boeing 737-400, through MAS, Kuala Lumpur in the year 2000.
- Obtained an endorsement for Boeing 737-700/800, through CAE, Burgess Hill, United Kingdom in the year 2001.
- Got promoted to Commander on Boeing 737- Next Gen Aircrafts, in the year 2004.
- Joined Air India Express as a Commander on Boeing 737’s in the year 2005.
- Got promoted to DGCA Approved Check Pilot on Boeing 737 in the year 2007.
- Got promoted to DGCA Approved Instructor on Boeing 737 in the year 2008.
- Got promoted to DGCA Approved Examiner on Boeing 737 in the year 2009.
- After the ill-fated Mangalore Crash on 22nd May 2010, I was appointed as Chief of Operations, Air India Express in October 2010.
- Voluntarily demitted office in 2012 and continued remaining an Examiner on Boeing 737’s until 2015.
- Joined Indigo Airlines, India’s largest airline by fleet size and market capacity in November 2015.
- Obtained an endorsement for Airbus A-321 in the year 2019.