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MAIN STORYand air traffic controllers as well as pilots –becomes increasingly apparent.Yet despite the increased trainingactivity, there are ser iou s concer nsa b o u t w h e t h e r e v e n t h i s m a j o rexpansion will be sufficient t o m e e td e m a nd. M a r k Pearson, the chairmanof International Aviation Group (AIG),which is part of the Alpha project, said eventhough it is building nine training centres itwill “only scratch the surface”.Like most major pilot training operations,Alpha will use the International CivilAviation Organisation’s (ICAO) newMulti-Crew Pilot’s Licence (MCPL) asthe central element of its syllabus. Thissees cadets emerge after 12 months ratedto fly as co-pilots on modern jets. Thenormal Air Transport Pilots Licence(ATPL) trains them to fly turboprops, butfurther training is required for graduationinto jet pilots.Hong Kong’s director of civil aviation,Norman Lo, is a strong advocate of theMPLC. Speaking at an Asia - Pacif icairline training symposium in Singapore inFebruary, he said to accommodate a projected6% annual growth rate in air traffic throughto 2020, there would have to be, at the veryleast, a doubling of the region’s pilot force.He arg ued the conventional pilotselection systems and criteria may nolonger be suitable. “It has become moreand more apparent that the development ofnew technologies and a rapidly evolvingairspace system have outpaced the currentairline flight training methodology. Tofurther enhance aviation safety, we have torevamp the way we train our new generationpilots,” said Lo.He is also concerned that “in responseto this pilot shortage, some airlines havestarted introducing lower-time pilots”. Hesaid particular concerns need to be addressedas to the minimum training and experiencerequired to admit low-time pilots into theairline system.John Bent, director of Hong Kong-basedaviation consultancy, Aviation SolutionsAsia, said it is “common knowledge thatsome aircraft have been delivered in Asiawhich cannot enter service immediately dueto lack of crews”.There are numerous growth projectionsand the average shows very large numbersof pilots, maintenance engineers and airtraffic controllers will be needed in the nexttwo decades in Asia, particularly China andIndia, he added.‘ A captain with PAL [PhilippineAirlines] can gross a salary ofbetween US$4,000 and US$7,000a month. By local standards thisis a very good salary, but howcan you match competitors,especially those in the MiddleEast and India, paying doublethat salary and tax-free. Here,our pilots are taxed at 32%’Jaime BautistaPresidentPhilippine Airlines“Training (production rates) run from twoto seven years depending on skill-sets andalthough numerous new facilities are beingbuilt, I believe that the numbers projectedto be trained are optimistic targets only,”said Bent.He said “motivation levels” for aviationcareers do not seem to be as high as theywere and even if sufficient candidates canbe found the challenge remained that peopletrained are not just numbers which fit; theywill mostly enter the industry from the startpoint with no experience.“The overall experience levels willtherefore drop, raising the spectre ofincreased risk in the system. So we facemany and various challenges, includinglarge infrastructure issues in India, but thelargest of all is to find and train the humanwareneeded by the system,” said Bent.“Multiple action is needed and someissues are being addressed, but mostly it istoo little, too late.”Pearson agrees, saying it will take newlytrained MCPL pilots three to five years toreach the experience level where they canmove into the (captain’s) left hand seat.“It’s a huge problem and it is going to get alot worse before it gets better,” he said.Captain Kevin Parker, director of trainingKorean Air has its own flight training school in Jejuat the Zhuhai Flight Training Centre in China– 51% owned by China Southern Airlines(CSA) and the remainder held by Canadiansimulator manufacturer CAE – said it isdifficult to say whether training expansionmeasures are sufficient.“The problem we face is we know wehave to move quickly, but we don’t wantto move too quickly because that in andof itself causes problems. I think we aremoving as fast as we possibly can to adaptto the ever-changing environment we havehere,” he said.Parker said the pressures are tremendous.At the moment the Zhuhai centre has ninesimulators covering the ERJ145, the BoeingB737-300, -500 and NG (Next Generation),the B757, B777 and the Airbus A320. It hasordered four more, to add NG and A320capacity and extend training to the AirbusA330. “We are training about 400 [pilots]a year at the moment and it is going toincrease to 500 next year and 600 in 2008.But I suspect we will get up closer to 700annually,” he said.While 80% of training is for CSA, thecentre also does third party training forcarriers in countries such as Vietnam,Korea and Taiwan, as well as other Chineseoperators.“The concern I have more than anythingis for those [Chinese] airlines that don’t havethe kind of support that China Southern has.They are going to have a tough time and Iwould hate to see anybody cutting corners tomake ends meet,” said Capt. Parker.Like many airline chiefs, PAL’s Bautistaalso fears the situation will drive pilotsalaries through the roof. “The easiest andcheapest way to get your pilots is to go tothe established carriers and offer packagesthat make it hard for many pilots to refuse.It is cheap because you don’t have to pay fortheir training. Someone else has done that foryou,” said the PAL chief.18 ORIENT AVIATION MAY 2006