From Air NZ Link. There will be a NZ Pilot Shortage!!!
A shortage of airline pilots is expected to hit New Zealand in 12 months but it will not compromise passenger safety or frequency of flights, an industry representative says.
Captain John Lenaghan, training manager for Air New Zealand subsidiary Mount Cook Airline, said a worldwide shortage of pilots had been created by increasing demand for air travel.
"People used to get the bus and now they get an Airbus."
Mr Lenaghan spoke on Friday in Nelson to a student pilot conference at the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology. The conference was organised by the polytechnic student association.
He said in New Zealand, smaller airlines acted as trainers for pilots before they moved on to a larger operator.
An airline pilot in New Zealand must have a minimum of 1500 hours' flying experience.
Airlines would set up their own flight academies to ensure new pilots were properly trained if flight schools suffered a shortage of instructors, he said.
As well as becoming more involved in training, airlines would look to attract overseas-based New Zealand pilots back to ensure there was not a decrease in flights, he said.
Aviation Industry Association chief executive Irene King said an extra 70,000 pilots would be needed in the Asia-Pacific region over the next 10 years to keep pace with 6 percent annual growth in the transport industry.