Here we go again

[Jack Sprat]

Just saw this item. Don't blink or you'll miss the shortage of pilots in NZ. As someone else said on this thread somewhere, a predicted pilot shortage means an airline is about to shut up shop.

Sun, 8 August 2004
NZ pilot shortage


The Aviation Industry Association hopes a forum later this month will find ways of easing a serious pilot shortage.


The forum, on August 25, will address a critical supply and demand problem.


Spokesman Warren Sattler says the industry has been depressed in recent years, but Air New Zealand's experience is typical of a turnaround.


He says it was in dire straits but now its fortunes are looking up with new aircraft on order. But Mr Sattler says many of its pilots are approaching retirement age.


The student loan scheme is seen as one reason for a shortage of pilots. Warren Sattler says until the student loan scheme started pilots paid for their own training.


The loan scheme prompted them to rely on the government to pay for their training but recently they have been hit with added costs. These include higher fuel costs and landing fees resulting from privatisation of airfields.


All those involved in pilot training and recruitment have been invited to next month's forum.



© 2004 Newstalk ZB News

[Yakka]

If they want more Kiwi pilots they should advertise in Darwin, they'll get no shortage of applications


Ya

[currawong]

Bwa ha ha ah!!!

Talked to this young bloke today. He is learning to fly when wine ,women and song permit. He had been told recently by someone in the know there is a shortage of jump pilots around here. So much so they are being payed $250 a lift.(!)

As I am yet to see a jump pilot turn up to work in a fur coat and stretched limo I found this hard to believe. I explained this to him.

Perhaps the jump pilot he referred to was also providing the aircraft?

Good example of how misunderstood the industry is.

[Jack Sprat]

The huge silence in support of Mr Sattlers contention that there will be a pilot shortage is deafening. Slim Pickens post on the Air Nelson thread sums it up - "over supply and under demand". These predictors of a pilot shortage never back it up. They are talking rubbish. The first quote on this thread is self interest from a trainer, nothing more. The fact that ANZ might need a trickle of experienced pilots does not mean there is a pilot shortage. It may mean that airlines need to do a bit of training to bring newbys up to a standard but I'll believe that when I see it. When has an airline in NZ ever said that there is a pilot shortage? AIAs justification for this statement will be interesting. When's the meeting does any one know?

[slamer]

Currawong....... he probably meant $2 dollars & 50 cents per lift!!

[tinpis]

Is that the same Warren Satler from AK AClub years ago had an old XK 140 Jag?

[newbe20]

slamerand currawong

mate $2.50 aint bad. i received a princely sum of one dollar per PAYING passenger. so i would take a 182 with 2 tandems and camera plus me and get paid TWO DOLLARS :{ for that load. if at the end of the day i made nineteen dollars the boss would go looking for change instead of slipping me the cool twenty. i did this for 800 hours and never complained once, got drunk regularly and generally had a great time flying there.

i logged one saturday 4.6 hours day and 5.1 hours at night, landing on dirt with three kero lanterns down one side of the strip. finished flying about one am and got paid $24. yeeeehaaaa. enough money there to pay for the petrol to get to the dropzone.

cheers