How to get your wings

Pub: Sydney Morning Herald
Pubdate: Wednesday 20th of February 2008
Edition: First
Copyright: Section: My Career
Subsection:
Page: 2
Wordcount: 724


The cost of starting a career as a pilot just came down, writes Justin Wastnage.
They're seen as having one of the most glamorous professions on the planet.
Commercial airline pilots spend their days among the clouds, often jetting from one exotic international destination to the next. They enjoy the admiration and respect of the community and can earn up to $350,000 a year.
And yet there is a shortage of applicants for pilot positions. Ian Woods, president of the Australian and International Pilots Association, says he is surprised aspiring pilots are not "crushed in the rush" for jobs with airlines. There are only 350,000 pilots worldwide, a tiny number compared with other occupations with the same earning potential.
Part of the problem is the cost involved in becoming a pilot. To earn their wings, aspiring aviators until recently have had to pay their own way through flight school, starting in light aircraft before graduating to twin-engined aircraft with sophisticated cockpit instruments. Would-be pilots have been forced to save or take out loans to pay the $60,000 needed to get an Australian commercial pilot's licence.
But there is now another way as airlines around the world rethink pilot training.
In Australia, Regional Express Airlines (Rex), facing a severe shortage of pilots, last year announced it would provide sponsored cadetships for raw recruits. "Rex recognises that the high cost of flying training is a major obstacle to many young people who desire to make a career in the sky," Rex chief of staff Jim Davis said at the launch of the program.
Rex spokeswoman Danielle Ross says the regional airline, which will pay for either half or all the training costs, depending on merit, had more than 1000 applications for the first intake of 20 places. Those selected were "the brightest academically". The first batch began training on December 10.
Of the 40 candidates the airline expects to take each year, 20 will be considered for a fully sponsored scholarship program that could see them paying nothing towards the $160,000 training program in return for a guarantee of six years' service. A further 20 will pay half the training costs via a low-interest loan and must stay with Rex for five years.
The program, a joint venture between Rex and Mangalore airport in Victoria, is in many ways a return to the past. Before the 1990s, many big airlines accepted recruits who paid for their tuition through flight. But privatisation made the airline industry more cutthroat and shareholders demanded an end to paid-for training schemes. By 2000, the only paid-for training option was a 10-year stint in the Royal Australian Air Force before shifting to commercial flying.
Woods says the crew shortage is getting more acute as air transport grows and airlines compete with each other to find pilots. The emergence of low-cost carriers is exacerbating the problem. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing estimates a further 10,000 pilots will be needed globally during the next 10 years to meet demand.
However, the Rex scheme is still far from the norm. Some regional airlines, such as Queensland's MacAir, are able to capitalise on their location to capture staff. "It's a lifestyle choice," says MacAir managing director Kevin Gill.
Most pilots are motivated by a love of flying. Virgin Blue pilot Rob Hoey first caught the aviation bug growing up in remote Papua New Guinea, where his parents were missionaries and flying was an essential mode of transport.
Hoey became a mechanic but he and his wife poured their salaries into his flying lessons for two years. When he qualified, he worked for NG Air, an Aboriginal-owned air service based in Alice Springs. After a stint in Papua New Guinea flying for Mission Aviation Fellowship, he returned to Australia, where he worked for several airlines before ending up at Virgin Blue in 2003. He worked his way up from Cessna light aircraft to 19-seat turboprops and large Boeing 767 jets, until finally transferring to the 76-seater Embraer jets on the Canberra to Sydney route.
For others wanting to be pilots, the gold standard is still the Qantas cadet pilot program. The airline has partnerships with Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne and Brisbane's Griffith University.