Emirates will recruit around 400 pilots next year – roughly the same as 2014 – as it takes delivery of 16 Airbus A380s and 13 Boeing 777s. Although some A330s, A340s and older 777s will be retired and crews retrained for newer types, the intake will see overall pilot numbers increase by a tenth. With a low annual retirement rate – because its pilots tend to be younger – Emirates’ flightdeck attrition rate is just 2%, says divisional senior vice president of flight operations Capt Alan Stealey.
Despite a blip three years ago when it urgently needed experienced direct-entry captains, the Dubai airline sticks to its policy of only recruiting first officers. While this might mean experienced captains have to return to second-in-command for a while, Stealey insists it is the best way for Emirates to instill the airline’s values in all flightcrew, and ensure opportunities for rising in rank apply equally. “We prefer to promote internally and early,” he says.
This means that all first officers have a chance to apply for captains’ positions after a minium of three years with the carrier, although a four-and-half year wait is typical, says Stealey. Given that Emirates stresses the long-term nature of a career with the airline, this is not an unreasonable period, he suggests. It is also much shorter than most legacy carriers, where stagnant fleet sizes and strict seniority rules mean co-pilots “might have to spend 20 years in the right-hand seat”.
We offer everything a young pilot would want, including flying the latest technology
To apply for a job at Emirates, pilots need at least 4,000 flying hours in total in a commercial aircraft, or 2,500 on either an Airbus or Boeing. Those from a low-cost carrier background – who will fly around 800h a year – often get there fastest, and many applicants come from this sector, says Stealey. For a pilot flying several short-hop sectors a day, the *attraction of intercontinental routes and really seeing the world can be compelling, he adds.
But Emirates also gets applications from much more seasoned pilots. “We had a guy in yesterday with 8,000h of experience,” he says. In fact, Stealey maintains he is seeing a change in the sort of pilots coming to Emirates. For a while crisis-hit US airlines were a happy hunting ground, but now, as the North American market has picked up, Europe’s ailing carriers are providing a stream of recruits, says Stealey. “If you work for an airline that is downsizing, we can offer stability,” he adds.
Last edited by Andy24; 12th Jan 2015 at 16:19.
Reason: Today on Flightglobal