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1995 Flying Training Directory
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After a few lean years, during which flying training activity declined sharply, there are now clear signs emerging that the industry has returned to growth.
According to the latest air transport statistics published by the Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics, flying training activity increased by 3.6% in 1993. This was the first year of growth after decreases of 6.8% the previous year, and 5.7% the year before that. The 1993 levels were still well below the peak reached in 1990, and it will take a few more years of steady growth before those levels are reached again. Nevertheless, the signs are encouraging. The figures show that the level of flying training activity is closely linked to the fortunes of the national economy. It is therefore very likely that the 6.4% growth in the Australian economy during 1994 was reflected in a similar sized increase in the amount of flying training activity. Provided general economic growth continues, the flying training market should continue to strengthen. Within these general overall trends, there have been clear regional differences. The number of aircraft movements at Bankstown indicated a strong return to growth in 1993, and Jandakot did even better, with an increase of over 10%. The recovery at Archerfield, on the other hand, was more muted and Moorabbin was just about flat, with an increase of less than 1%. Parafield seems to have been in a class of its own, managing something looking more like a sine wave over the past several years, oscillating down markedly in 1993. Presumably it went up again in 1994. The figures at some smaller airfields have been driven by the performance of individual schools which dominate them. For instance, Tamworth has shown spectacular growth from just under 42,000 movements in 1990 to well over 63,000 movements in 1993. Not only has the recovery progressed at different rates around the country, but some schools have fared markedly better than others. One of the more consistent performers has been the Bruce Hartwig Flying School in Parafield, where Greg Norris reports that business has been relatively steady for some time. The school experienced neither the boom of the late eighties, nor the bust that followed, to the same extent as many in the eastern states. (Mind you, this school understands what the words marketing and promotion mean, unlike many of their less productive competitors.) Indeed, Parafield is the only major training airfield which had more movements in 1993 than it had in 1990. Operators at Parafield have also been fortunate that the lower level of competition has enabled them to avoid an unrealistic price war. This has allowed Bruce Hartwig Flying School to invest in upgrading its equipment, and to pay decent salaries to its instructors. Norris claims that employing only full time salaried instructors has had the effect of raising training standards. On the downside, though, Norris believes that the intense media attention given to flight safety and the CAA during the latter half of 1994 did have a noticeable adverse effect on flying training which lasted a couple of months.
1995 Australian Aviation Flying Training Directory
Greg Norris also makes an interesting point, saying that his school made a conscious decision not to chase the international market at this time. In doing so, they may have missed out on some student numbers, but importantly his school is not burdened with ballooning infrastructure costs that require more contracts at any price to sustain the cash flows needed to service the borrowings. Norris prefers the long term viability of steadily increasing his school’s domestic market share. The number of university style courses on offer is also continuing to increase. There are now eight available. Not only is the number of universities offering these courses increasing, but they are at last starting to organise themselves. Having formed the Australasian University Aviation Association some three years ago, they are becoming increasingly active in lobbying for Government funding, and are talking about setting up an accreditation process for their members. There is also an increasing number of TAFE colleges offering “Associate Diplomas in Aviation Studies” or similar. In addition, a significant number of smaller schools are restyling themselves as “colleges” or “academies”. All that is missing is some sign that the airlines are actually interested in these sorts of tertiary qualifications. As yet, the most common question that pilot applicants will be hearing remains “how many hours have you got?” Other questions might be “how many multi engine hours?” and “how many hours on type?” The reputation of the school where a pilot did his or her flying training is certainly important — in fact it’s critically important. But whether a pilot’s eligibility for employment is enhanced by university level academic qualifications is not yet well established.
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