Another "Pilot shortage" Article
"NEW figures showing the global aviation industry will need to find 17,000 pilots a year are likely to prove bad news for Australian airlines.
Australia's regional carriers are already finding it tough to recruit replacements for pilots moving to bigger airlines as those carriers intensify their recruitment drives.
That situation will be exacerbated by the arrival from next year of new jets in the domestic market, plus aggressive growth plans by overseas airlines who have traditionally used Australia as a recruiting ground.
International Air Transport Association director-general Giovanni Bisignani said the high demand for pilots would be due to a combination of retirements and a projected industry growth of 5 to 6per cent a year.
He said the industry was already seeing the first signs of strain with two worrying tendencies: lower training and qualification standards and human factors cropping up in more accidents.
"It's time to ring the warning bell," Mr Bisignani said.
"We must rethink pilot training and qualification to further improve safety and increase training capacity."
Australian and International Pilots Association general manager Peter Somerville said Qantas already had a shortage in parts of the group, including Qantaslink and Jetstar, and was running an extensive recruitment program.
"We all agree that if there's not a pilot shortage now, if half the expansion plans of the world's airlines are realised, there certainly will be in the very near future," Mr Somerville said.
Qantas wanted to boost pilots' productivity, Mr Somerville said.
The union had called for an independent audit of potential pilot productivity gains and was looking at ways this could be rewarded, he said."
Well we've heard it all before. This shortage seems to be generated by the media to make good copy.
Yes some of the regionals are reducing/cancelling some routes but this too is economic opportunism as many of these routes have been loss makers.
Lets face it bean counters run the show now and they will dictate the introduction of the MCC and the levels of safety will be maintained by idiot proof aircraft. Even if there is a hull loss,the industry will blame the operation within that airline and not the endemic across the board lowering of experience levels brought on by the MCC licence.
Rant Over.