Faced with a shortage of local pilots, aviation industry officials, advocates and representatives of civil airlines yesterday jointly called for the establishment of a program to train pilots, with the airlines and the trainees sharing part of the expenses.
Shieh Chung-gang (
On average, a company has to spend NT$7 million (US$212,121) to NT$8 million to train a pilot, he said.
These expenses include the costs of attending aviation schools overseas, acquiring license certifications and real-time flight training.
However, most of the airline companies have found from experience that the percentage of those who fail these training courses is high, he said.
"We suggest that the civil airlines and the association form a joint review committee to choose qualified personnel for pilot training," Shieh said. "The association will then assist him or her in acquiring loans, which can be provided by banks or the China Aviation Development Foundation."
The airlines will still have to provide approximately two-thirds of the training expenses, he said.
The suggestion was proposed at a seminar hosted by the People First Party legislators Liu Wen-hsiung (
Officials from the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) were also present at the event.
Representatives from Mandarin Airlines, China Airlines, EVA Air and Uni Air cited other factors behind the pilot shortage.
Nearly all domestic carriers have been hurt by the competition from the high speed rail, they said, adding that because of the devaluation of the NT dollar, foreign pilots are in general paid more than domestic pilots.
The airlines also lamented the lack of progress in opening direct links. In light of the uncertainty regarding this policy, the airlines said they had to be cautious about drastically increasing the number of pilots.
A majority of the nation's pilots are retired Air Force officers. The Air Force, however, has expressed concern about retired officers going on to become commercial airline pilots.
Yu Yi-shi (
The CAA does not operate a pilot school, he said, adding that it is only in charge of certifying the legality and qualifications of the training center.
Liu, however, addressed the urgency of training more pilots.
Criticizing the airlines' refusal to invest in pilot training, he reminded them that they "cannot wait for the full opening of the market in China and start training pilots then."
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