Wonder what their #'s are in the pool?? Perhaps 1-6? Must be nice 
First emirati cadet pilots graduate from flight training
Mon, 23 Feb 2009 01:55 PM
Etihad Airways’ first group of Emirati cadet pilots have successfully gained their airline transport pilot licence (ATPL) and graduated from flight training at the Horizon International Flight Academy in Al Ain.
The pilots were conferred by Horizon Academy with their flying wings in a ceremony at Etihad’s training academy in Abu Dhabi which was attended by family and friends of the pilots as well as senior management from Etihad Airways and Horizon.
The six Emirati pilots - Khalid Saeed, Ebrahim Haidar, Abdullah Al-Afifi, Ahmed Yousef Ahmed, Mohamed Al-Menhali and Ayman Abdulla Bin Jathnan – started the 18 month course in June 2007 and have now joined the airline as second officers.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, said: “The graduation of our first Emirati cadet pilots from Horizon Academy is a very proud moment for everyone at Etihad Airways. As the national airline of the UAE it is vital that we have Emiratis working in all areas of the company and so to have our own ‘home grown’ pilots in our ranks is fantastic.
“The six Emirati pilots are an inspiration to us all and we wish them the very best of luck as they now enter the next phase of their careers with Etihad and practice and study full time at our brand-new training academy.”
As second officers the pilots will now undertake a multi-crew co-operation course and an Airbus A320 type conversion course which will enable them to fly as co-pilots on the Etihad Airways Airbus A320 short haul fleet.
The cadet pilots will spend much of the time during the type conversion course in Etihad’s A320 full-flight simulator as well as training in the development of non-technical skills applicable to working in a multi-crew environment. After approximately six months they complete their final checks and will qualify as A320 first officers.
Mohammed Humaidan Al Zaabi, general manager of Horizon International Flight Academy, said: “It is a great privilege for Horizon to have been chosen by Etihad to train these young pilots in the first step of their careers.
“The UAE has a strong history of producing highly trained pilots and Horizon and Etihad can be proud to have played a part in the continuation of this story.”
In order to gain the frozen ATPL the cadet pilots had to complete 750 hours of classroom tuition and 205 hours flight training in single and multi-engine aircraft. During this time they all passed the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority’s theoretical knowledge and flying exams.
Etihad’s Emirati cadet pilot programme has grown considerably since it was launched in January 2007 and now boasts 55 UAE nationals who are currently training to become fully qualified pilots with the UAE’s national airline.
In addition to the cadet pilot programme, Etihad Airways’ Emiratisation initiatives focus on two other streams which include the technical engineering development programme and graduate management development programme.
Etihad now also has two international cadet pilot courses which run alongside the five Emirati courses at Horizon Academy. The two groups contain 24 cadet pilots from countries around the world including Hungary, Canada and the United Kingdom.