Pilot Crisis Takes Off

Rex and a number of operators at all levels had been lobbying the government to look at ways to encourage more people to take up flying careers.

” The most pressing issue is that of supply.

Due to the strong economy, young people who may have considered a flying career are now able to pick up alternative jobs which are better paying and do not require as much intense training. Flying has also lost a lot of its glamour and is now being perceived by students as a tough and arduous career choice.

Regional Express (Rex) brought the situation to the fore when it began cancelling services as a result of not having enough pilots to operate their full schedule. In an almost infamous media release, the airline spoke of a “catastrophic” pilot shortage, accusing the bigger airlines of “poaching” its pilots. The airline subsequently announced a small number of route withdrawals and schedule changes as it coped with a pilot exodus.

Then at the Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA) convention in late October, Qantas chief pilot Captain Chris Manning labelled the pilot shortage the biggest crisis to face aviation in his 37 year flying career, bigger even than the 1989 pilots’ dispute or the 2001 Ansett collapse.

Rex and a number of operators at all levels had been lobbying the government to look at ways to encourage more people to take up flying careers. In November during the election campaign, then transport minister Mark Vaile announced that a re-elected Coalition government would look to subsidise up to 25 per cent of pilot training costs provided they worked for a nominated regional airline for a two year period. At the time of writing it was unclear whether the new Labor government would look to implement a similar scheme.

This pilot shortage comes as most sectors of the aviation industry experience solid growth. November’s entry of Tiger Airways into the Australian market is likely to stimulate more passenger growth. Added to that the existing three airlines are all adding more aircraft and new types including 777s, 787s and A380s, all of which will require many more pilots. Compounding the problem is the fact that a number of airline pilots will be coming up to retirement age in the near future. The small flow of self funded pilots is only likely to cover the retirements of older pilots and may not be sufficient to cater for the fleet growth.

In order to secure their supply of pilots, some operators are moving to start their own training programs, as well as introduce or increase the number of cadets they are taking.

Qantas has been most active in this respect and has now opened its own flying training business. Catering for both its own and other airlines’ needs, it is expected that Qantas Flying Training will allow the Qantas Group airlines to manage the training and recruitment of new pilots.

Rex is also establishing a cadet program.

Under the program, pilots will be able to take out a loan from the company to pay for their training and would be eligible for a first officer position. Rex is also establishing its own flight training business as a joint venture with Mangalore Airport in Victoria which will initially cater for the training of these cadets.

The result of the current shortage is that progression cycles have decreased dramatically.

Operators can no longer bank on holding on to pilots for long periods of time. Some pilots are now able to go from earning a CPL straight in to the charter or regional operators with little time spent in GA. At the bigger end, the major airlines are all facing stiff competition for pilots from Middle Eastern and Asian airlines.

This cycle problem is proving problematic for some chief pilots. The chief pilots Australian Aviation spoke to at both the airlines and GA operators expressed concern that a growing number of pilots do not have a large amount of ‘real world’ experience under their belts and are moving on to the next level of responsibility before they gain a large number of hours. At the other end, some airline pilots are progressing on to commands, check and training positions quicker than ever before.

An interesting and somewhat controversial issue for training pilots has been the Multi- Crew Pilot’s Licence (MPL). 2008 should see the first trial batch of graduates from an MPL course at Alteon’s Brisbane facility come through. These pilots effectively build their hours based on simulator time rather than time spent in GA with the view of progressing on immediately to a first officer position at an airline. This has the potential to reduce the time taken to train pilots which may provide a quicker path for airline pilots, but it also has the potential to rob the GA community of pilots.

Interestingly, the operators surveyed by Australian Aviation were not concerned about how the MPL would impact them. A number of operators felt that it would take time for the MPL to be accepted by the airlines, and so in the short term most pilots would still take the GA route on their path to the airlines in order to build their skills and exposure to different operating environments.

General Aviation

Parts of GA have long been in decline in Australia, with the standout exception of flight training mainly for international airlines, while some of the scenic operators are also benefiting from increased tourism. Nevertheless, these operators are facing short term problems with both hiring and retaining experienced and qualified pilots.

While the new flying training schools being set up by Rex and Qantas will help to ensure a supply of pilots for those operators, it is expected that this will have big effects on the smaller flying training organisations and their abilities to secure quality instructors. A number of flying schools have reported problems with finding and retaining Grade I instructors.

A shortage of instructors is even seeing Qantas second some of its second officers with instructing experience back to the GA flying schools which train its cadets.

Scenic operators in the northern states are also being affected by the shortage. While some of the major operators are still able to crew their flights, the challenge for many has been getting the right staff with an appropriate amount of hours and the personal experience to handle living and working outside the big cities.

But the greater issue seems to be retaining these pilots. “We used to be able to rely on a pilot being around for 2-3 years. . . ,” says Eldon Patterson, chief pilot of Kununurra based Alligator Airways. “Now we have them for only six months. ” It is expected among others in the GA community that such short terms will become the norm as the demand from regional and charter airlines for pilots increases.

The pressure from the regional airlines and the career progression opportunities with some of the mining charter operators has been the main challenge for these

I have reservations and at this stage I don’t see a need to shortcut the system to fill a seat on the flightdeck.

smaller operators. Some of the larger charter operators like Skippers Aviation offer a quick progression on to larger aircraft as well as to the left hand seat.

For many career builders looking to progress on to the airlines this is appealing as it allows them to build their command hours and gain more experience on different aircraft.

Regionals

As evidenced by Rex’s well publicised problems, the regional airlines are caught as the meat in the pilot shortage sandwich. As an ‘intermediate stop’ between GA and the major airlines, many regional airlines have felt the pull for pilots from the majors as well as seeing fewer candidates come through from GA.

The current situation has forced some of the regionals and the major airlines to work together to ensure that the regionals are not starved of pilots. Jetstar and Rex have begun cooperating to ensure that any pilots moving up to Jetstar from Rex give adequate notice of their leaving.

The two airlines have also been involved in lobbying the government to address the current shortage.

In the short term, most regional airlines have had to drop their requirements in order to fill places in the cockpit. Both Rex and QantasLink have lowered their number of required hours in order to recruit pilots.

Nevertheless, both are finding that the majority of pilots soon move on to the major airlines after building their hours.

In order to secure their stream of pilots in the future, some operators are bringing back cadetships. Under Rex’s cadet program the company will loan up to 50 per cent of the cost of training to pilots in return for being bonded as first officers with Rex, Pel-Air or Air Link.

The company is also offering 20 scholarships which will pay for up to 50 per cent of a cadet’s training and see them bonded for six years.

One of the problems for regional airlines such as Rex is that a number of them have only limited aircraft in their fleet and limited progression opportunities. An increasing number of pilots are now looking to the longer term benefits of being able to move on to other aircraft in the future, including the ability to build jet time. Therefore, other operators in the regional mould but with more diverse fleet types such as Skywest are able to offer more and so tend to retain staff for longer periods of time.

The other important operators are the larger charter airlines, such as WA’s Skippers Aviation. A number of these operators are currently busy meeting the demands of their mining industry clients and have significantly built up their fleets.

However, with the flow of pilots from GA becoming a trickle and more moving on to the regionals and other airlines, the charter operators are also feeling the effects of the shortage.

The entrance of more regional jets into the Australian marketplace could also prove an inviting avenue for a number of pilots currently flying turboprops. As well as Virgin Blue, SkyAirWorld has committed to adding more E-Jets, plus the smaller EMB-145 to fly regional services. This could open up more jet positions for pilots currently flying turboprops and place more strain on the regionals.

The Majors

The bigger airlines are now finding that it is becoming harder to fill their positions at the same time as they are ramping up their fleets, leading them to recruit heavily from the regional airlines.

The shortage in the airlines became apparent in June when Virgin Blue had to reduce flying on some routes to cover the reduction in pilots as a result of the training for introducing the Embraer E-170s/190s.

The other airlines are feeling the pinch too. Although Qantas and Jetstar have not been forced to make wholesale changes to their schedules, the current indications are that both airlines will face some crewing challenges as their respective fleets grow. With the recent order for over 100 new 737-800s and A320 Family aircraft, this has created a greater need for pilots. Chris Manning told the RAAA that Qantas recruited 68 pilots in 2006, compared to the 178 it needed in 2007.

The entrance of Tiger Airways to Australia has also had a large effect.

Although the carrier has only started with three A320s, the need to fill training and check positions has drawn some of the more experienced A320 pilots. Some positions at the airline have also been filled by Australians returning home.

Tiger’s aspiration to add up to 30 aircraft to its Australian operation over the coming years will require many more pilots. The situation is such now that pilots who have come through the ranks in the charter operators and regional airlines are now receiving multiple offers from the airlines. Increasingly, factors other than salary are becoming a key incentive for new pilots.

Lifestyle factors have become more important for a number of pilots and it is here that the budget carriers have an advantage. For example the budget operators tend to have very few overnight stops. This offers the convenience of being able to spend more time at home and being able to commute to their pilot bases around the country. According to Jetstar’s general manager of flying operations Mark Wheeler, this has been particularly attractive to pilots who previously worked overseas but have come back to Australia to raise their families.

The variety of aircraft is also a strong factor which the airlines are finding when recruiting pilots. In early 2009 Jetstar will be the first carrier in Australia to receive the 787 which Wheeler claims is attracting strong interest from pilots, both within and outside the company. These new types are increasing the attractiveness of airlines like Jetstar and have helped entice some overseas pilots back to Australia.

The biggest threat perceived by the major airlines at the moment is the appeal of the large overseas carriers who are looking for pilots. Emirates, Etihad and Gulf Air in particular have been active in recruiting Australian pilots and have been able to offer attractive packages for a number of them.

Closer to home, the growth of the southeast Asian low cost carriers including Tiger and Air Asia could also prove a threat to Australian airlines in their battle to hire and retain staff. Added to this will be the great need from all airlines in India and China to find pilots. Wheeler notes that Chinese cargo airline Jade Cargo has been actively recruiting Australian pilots as a result of a recent Chinese ban on poaching pilots from the existing Chinese airlines.

Nevertheless, for some the appeal of heading overseas is losing its shine. Part of the reason is the strong Australian dollar, meaning that the once great US dollar salaries are now less appealing. In any case, many pilots choose to come back to Australia for lifestyle and family reasons after a few years and the airlines are expecting this trend to continue for a number of years.

Interestingly, none of the major Australian airlines appear to be talking actively about the MPL as a way of securing staff. When asked about the likelihood of taking on MPL pilots in the near future, Wheeler says, “I have reservations and at this stage I don’t see a need to shortcut the system to fill a seat on the flightdeck. ” Indeed Qantas’s Manning told the RAAA convention that he thought MPLs would save neither time nor money compared to the existing licensing system.

One of the better training options for the airlines is integrated training schemes which can deliver a fully trained jet first officer in approximately 18 months. Wheeler notes that CTC in the UK can tailor a program where pilots can go from ab initio and learn the airline’s standard operating procedures as they go, creating an airlineready pilot in 16-18 months. Importantly, these pilots are still able to gain enough time in the air to satisfy the airlines that they have had adequate experience.

Another concern among the airlines is retaining experienced check and training captains. With the requirements falling and the need to train more pilots, the major airlines are facing a situation where some pilots are moving to check and training positions without a long period on the aircraft type. These pilots are also a target for the foreign airlines’ recruitment and so all of the major airlines are offering incentives for pilots to stay in Australia.

The Outlook

It seems that if there is to be any resolution to the current situation that there will have to be some changes to the training approach. Many prospective pilots simply cannot self fund their training and so take up other careers.

Possible solutions which have been put up are adopting a government loan system similar to the HECS scheme for university students. It remains to be seen how the new Labor government aims to address this issue but it is certain that it must be addressed soon.

The current situation should serve as some comfort for those who are considering a flying career. One thing which seems to be agreed by those contacted by Australian Aviation is that there is more than ample opportunity to make a career out of flying. Those after the short way to the right seat of a jet are also likely to progress through more quickly than before into the cockpit of a 737 or A320.

Even though it has been much maligned, the MPL scheme seems unlikely to have a large affect on pilot training in Australia in the short term. Although Australia is the world leader in starting this training regime, the dominant view throughout the industry is that nothing beats time in the air. Thus it seems unlikely that the airlines will favour MPL pilots in future recruitment and the better gauge of experience will always be hours in the aircraft.

Overall, most sectors of the aviation industry are growing strongly and will be in need of pilots for the foreseeable future. This is creating more and more opportunities for pilots and the time required to progress through the different levels is decreasing. This can only be good news for those currently in training and others who seek a career in flying. What impact a lack of pilot experience may have on air safety remains to be seen.