Air Sahara on Friday brought into the country latest e-training platform for pilots and cabin crew which, if approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, would be a cost-effective and futuristic form of imparting refresher courses to the airline staffers.

The web-based training courses by Lufthansa Flight Training was introduced at a technical seminar, hosted by Air Sahara, which was also attended by pilots and cabin crew, not only from Air-India, Indian Airlines and Jet Airways, but also from the Indian Air Force.

"Till now in India, training of pilots and cabin crew is done in class rooms and the trainees have to be grounded for about eight days. If these web-based courses are approved by the DGCA, it will not only be cost-effective but will also give these staffers the freedom to get trained anywhere they are, even at home," Air Sahara CEO U K Bose told reporters.

The on-line training port, called 'Skybook', does not just have refresher courses, but also provides latest updates on weather, airfield information around the world, he said.

The system, which is already being used by leading airlines in different parts of the world like Lufthansa and United Airlines, provides emergency training, airport familiarisation, cabin service training, service instructions and simulator training.