Reaching for the sky

The scheme will see cadets complete their training at FTA in a 56-week course, graduating with private (PPL) and commercial pilots’ licences (CPL), multi-engine command instrument rating (MECIR), air transport pilots’ licence (ATPL), jet conversion and multi-crew training qualifications.

Cadets will have successfully completed Year 12 and initially will be limited to those who have up to a PPL or minimal practical flying experience. Virgin stresses that cadets will be mentored by pilots already flying for the airline.

The approach of taking cadets through the various stages of flying represents a difference to many cadet schemes around the world, which are increasingly focusing on graduating cadets with a multi-crew pilots’ licence (MPL), largely restricting them to operating as a career first officer.

Virgin cadets who graduate from the FTA training will then be seconded to Skywest Airlines, flying on the ATR 72 fleet for about three years and amassing 1,500 hours’ experience. They will then transition to first officer positions on the Virgin jet fleet.

Virgin says this will ensure pilots who have come through the cadet stream exceed its minimum experience requirements before stepping into the cockpit of a jet aircraft.

Initially, the airline will begin with eight cadet positions and will adjust future intakes to meet its need for pilots at the time. First intake applications closed on August 14.

Virgin has emphasised the scheme will complement the hiring of pilots through other paths.

This seems to contrast with Jetstar, which at the launch of its own cadet program in 2010 announced its program would become the main stream for recruiting future pilots to the airline.

Virgin also noted that its scheme would advance the upfront costs of flight train48

ing and provide assistance with meals and accommodation while the cadets complete their courses.

Some other carriers’ schemes require partial or even full payment upfront, although some have access to schemes such as the Commonwealth government’s FEE-HELP, allowing them to defer full payment until after the training is complete.

The airline has not yet revealed how long a cadet pilot would be expected to stay after completing training – many other programs include some form of bond or salary sacrifice system to prevent graduates from going elsewhere once their training is completed.

The Virgin announcement appears to have ended Skywest’s plans to launch its own cadet scheme, first announced in 2010 but apparently progressing little since then.

Virgin’s scheme launches at a time when many questions have been asked about the effectiveness of some pilot training schemes, with Jetstar’s cadet scheme particularly coming under the spotlight. Jetstar recruits inexperienced cadets and pilots who have already obtained a CPL.

Under the ab intio program, a student with little or no flying experience does an accelerated CPL course and completes an MECIR and an A320 endorsement before progressing into a junior first officer position with the airline. Those pilots already holding a CPL, MECIR and ATPL subjects can apply for the airline’s advanced cadet course, which sees pilots progress through an airline qualification course and achieving an A320 type rating.

The ab intio program has come in for the closest scrutiny, particularly with concerns that a cadet may graduate with as little as 250 hours of flying time before moving into a first officer position.

Training is done at Oxford Aviation Academy, Moorabbin or CTC Aviation Training, Hamilton, New Zealand. CTC also trains cadets for Singapore-based Jetstar Asia.

Some recent safety incidents and a Senate inquiry last year raised concerns that Jetstar cadet pilots employed were adding to the workload of more experienced pilots once they had advanced to the airline’s A320 fleet.

Other concerns have been raised about Jetstar program funding and the treatment of cadets, with revelations the airline tried to hire them under New Zealand conditions despite being based in Australia. The airline later moved the cadets onto Australian contracts but the Fair Work Ombudsman still launched court action against Jetstar in April.

Under less scrutiny has been Regional Express, which continues to recruit cadets for its own program, run by its Australian Airline Pilot Academy subsidiary in Wagga Wagga.

SEPTEMBER 2012 AUSTRALIAN AVIATION

Rex began its move towards operating a cadet scheme in the late 2000s in response to an acute pilot shortage at the time, forcing it to cut back on some routes. At the time, Rex had pointed to strong growth at Virgin and Jetstar, which saw many regional and general aviation pilots recruited by the larger airlines.

Although growth in the industry over the past few years has been more constrained, Rex continues to operate its cadet scheme, seeing it as the primary pathway for new pilots to the airline and its other flying businesses.

Under its program, cadets do a 32‑week course, graduating with a CPL and MECIR. Unlike the Virgin course, Rex cadets are not given ATPL theory training but the company says assistance is offered to cadets who choose to do so themselves.

The course costs $98,000, which can be funded through a series of loans and scholarships to be paid back by the student over a bond period with the airline.

Rex’s latest round of cadets began its course in June with another intake expected in October. Cadets are then eligible for pilot positions with Rex, Pel-Air, Air Link or back at the AAPA as an instructor.

The AAPA also is a training partner of Jeppesen, and last year began its first course for cadets of Middle East carrier Air Arabia.

Independent regional carrier Sharp Airlines also operates its own cadet scheme, where prospective pilots complete their training in-house before progressing through to the company’s Metroliner fleet.

Sharp is now recruiting for its next cadet pilot intake, which will begin in January 2013. Flight training is done at its school in Hamilton, Victoria.

All the cadet programs appear to be a way for the airlines to secure new pilots for the future, despite the market being subdued.

Boeing has forecast the strong growth in airline travel in the Asia Pacific region will require one million new pilots by 2031.

While many of these are expected to be for the fast-growing Chinese and other carriers in South-East Asia, there have been concerns this will put more pressure on Australian airlines to train and retain pilots.

Some operators across the aviation spectrum also have expressed concern that school students generally are not looking towards a career in flying, largely dissuaded by costs and the long road that a career pilot must take.

However, in a briefing to its pilot committee Virgin Australia said it expected up to 4,000 applicants for the first intake of its cadet program, while Jetstar and Rex have previously reported strong interest for their programs.