SAA to hire over 100 pilots in the next 12 months
SAA has authorised flight operations to maintain total pilot strength of 768 pilots. At current, SAA has 733 pilots with 5 due to retire before year end. Add to this the 15+ pilots who are about to leave for Australia plus many others who have slots at Jade, Emirates and Cathay, to name a few, and the total starts to approach 60, 65, 70, 75??? Then the Chief Pilot / Dir. of Flt Ops mentioned that the 3 x B738 and 3 x A330 aircraft the airline has now been authorised to lease over the next 12 months will require 60 additional pilots!! So where does that take the total to - 120, 130, 140??
Problem is, it does not seem that South African pilots at other carriers are that keen to move to SAA anymore. This will certainly change South Africa's pilot job market dynamics for some time to come!!