at least continuing with training,” he explains.“Vietnam shows no drop-off – in fact, there isconsiderable growth. And in Malaysia, there isdemand from AirAsia, which has its ownacademy but needs more pilots right now thanthat academy can currently supply, so it islooking outside, too.

“Australia, on the other hand, saw Qantassuspend training programmes almost overnight.In other markets, Europe and North America arefully catered, while South America is growing.With the regulatory model there largely basedon the FAA system, we will probably see a lotof US pilots heading there.”

“For training in Africa, most organisations arenervous about taking risks in the market,”Petteford adds, continuing his global review.“The Middle East is interesting, as a lot ofpeople are having a go at building trainingcentres – but is anyone doing it successfullyenough for the long term? There is a strongpush to get indigenous pilots, but I don’t knowif there’ll be enough people who will want to doit. For a while, I’m sure we’ll see a mixture withsome ex-pats. In India, where demand remainshigh, the regulatory system is decades behindwhere it needs to be. It’s possible to get a CPLonly by training in a Cessna 152.”

■■ MPL VALUEIf airlines do not keep enough students goingthrough programmes in lean times, then a rapidscramble to train enough for the good times is likely to follow. Such a scenario could behelped by the multi-crew pilot licence (MPL)programme, which can take candidates fromab initio status to the right-hand seat of anairliner in 60 weeks. Each provider has its ownviews on the programme and its relevance totheir carrier customers.

“MPL has, so far, not been favoured inAustralia, where there is a ready pool of pilotsof regional aircraft to feed into the requirementsof the bigger airlines, and there is no incentivefor these carriers to invest in the extra time andmoney required for an MPL,” states AAPA’sDavis. “Even Qantas, which runs an ab initiocadet programme, has not gone down the pathof an MPL. For our pilot academy, we

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That question of how much operators shouldbe doing in this downturn draws differingresponses from around the training providers.Petri Louhivuori, commercial director of FinnairFlight Training Center, has split leanings. “Airlinesmust look into the future and make sure that wehave the necessary pilot resources when thebusiness starts to grow again. Ab initio pilottraining is important to secure the entry level atthat stage,” he proclaims, but adds: “Airline typetraining for entry pilots is on hold now, as thepilots are not needed and the training would bea lost investment.”

■■ ENSURING CONTINUITYJim Davis, managing director of Rex and itssubsidiary training arm, Australian Airline PilotAcademy (AAPA), is all for ensuring continuity.“In an environment where airlines are parkingtheir planes, most carriers will see no growth oreven negative growth in pilot numbers in theshort term. This is not uniform for all countries,and there are regions like China and the MiddleEast that are still pressing ahead with increasesin their fleets, albeit at a slower pace,” he notes.

“While many orders are being delayed, thereis still a tremendous backlog of new aircraft tobe delivered. If demand is to pick up next year,or even the year after, then training should be inthe planning stages now,” Davis proposes.

At Oxford Aviation Academy (OAA), that isexactly what is going on. Taking into accountan average lead time of 18-24 months to go from zero to airline qualification, OAA’smanaging director, Anthony Petteford,comments, “We have a number of ‘white-tail’students who are amazingly enlightened aboutthe fact that a requirement that hitherto waslarge has now been deferred. And they are stillgoing ahead with their training. If the white-tailmarket recognises this, then surely the airlinesmust recognise it.”

OAA is pressing ahead, getting keencandidates started in their training. Funding is achallenge, admits Petteford. “All that we ask isthat the airlines support the programme tonurture young people who want to come intothe industry. If you encourage people during adowntime, the quality of the candidate will behigh,” he stresses.

With operator support, Petteford is convincedthat students will find funding slightly more

“It’s important not to get too boggeddown with the current financial climate, but to put it into the context of the growth that we’ve seen in the industry for the last five to ten years and the return to that trend thatwe believe will occur.” Capt Rob Clarke, CEOof CTC Aviation Services, is giving his opinionon what, in today’s global economy, is theworldwide requirement for pilots and whetherairlines still need to press on with their training programmes.

“Only last year, the industry was focussed onthe global pilot shortage and discussing theissues that the forecast of air travel doubling inthe next 20 years would bring,” Clarke adds.“Most of us in the industry see the currentsituation as a ‘blip’ in the global demand forpilots, and whilst we don’t know precisely howlong the current conditions will last, we shouldbe pressing on as much as possible with thetraining programmes previously started – airlinesare obviously a critical part of this.

“There is a long lead time for trainingprogrammes, almost as long as ordering newaircraft. And, like aeroplane orders, it may bethat training programmes have to be changedor flexed – but they should not be forgotten, orwe will, at some point in the not-too-distantfuture, face an even bigger headache than wewere forecasting last year.” ➔

Keeping thepilot pool

stockedThough times are tough and pilots are being laid off, the

airline market must also be ready for when the globaleconomy grows again, as Bernie Baldwin reports.

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readily. “At OAA we have stimulated interest inthe market, and enrolment is ongoing. But wewill run out of steam if airlines don’t back theschemes. We cannot just turn it on with a tap.Last year was a good one, and the beginningof 2009 has been, too, but the energy is comingout of the market. All we need is a contributionfrom carriers showing interest.”

Swiss AviationTraining (SAT) has plenty ofdemand at present from its major customerSwiss International Air Lines. “In Europe,especially in Switzerland, there are requirementsfor pilots,” reports Uschi Roth, SAT’s head ofcorporate and marketing communications.“Swiss still needs 90 pilots for 2009 and another60 for 2010. While the need for pilots has

stagnated along with the slump in air travel,Swiss is adhering to its pilot training plan.

“This year, SAT is in a better position,” Rothadds. “We intend to run Embraer 170/190 typetraining for 600 pilots. Last year, we type-trained577 pilots for Embraer and its internationalcustomers. And with the increasing demand forEmbraer 170/190 type rating training in the lastfour years, we have invested in a new E-190 full-flight simulator (FFS), which has been locatedin Munich since the end of March 2009.Commissions to date already ensure that thisFFS will be at least 80% utilised between nowand the end of the year.” Lufthansa CityLine, AirDolomiti, Augsburg Airways, Baboo and Alitaliaare among the customers.

Although current projections are for 25%fewer aircraft deliveries this year compared with2008, more than 1,000 are still expected,indicates CAE’s group president, civil productsand training and services, Jeff Roberts. Heacknowledges that the short-term require-ment for pilots is softening, but adds thereminder of a source of business for all

providers. “Pilots always need recurrent trainingto stay current, regardless of difficult financialtimes,” he remarks.

Xavier Hervé, president and COO of trainingequipment supplier Mechtronix, is notconvinced of the need to pull back on training.“Right now in western Europe and NorthAmerica, there is a corporate paranoia regardinginvestments, which is a different position fromthose of airlines elsewhere,” he declares. “Chinastill wants to grow, and the ab initio market isnot going away there.”

Hervé’s comment about the Chinese marketechoes the feelings of the training providers –in particular, OAA’s Petteford. “The Asia-Pacificregion as a whole still needs more, but they are

Trainees at CTC using a VFD device.

The flight line of Piper Senecas at Oxford Aviation Academy.

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are still adopting the traditional approach of aCPL and command instrument rating [CIR] forairline cadets.”

Nor is MPL a priority at Finnair. “The trainingalternative needs to be looked at once we areback to larger training volumes,” Louhivuoriremarks. “Presently, the ‘old system’ is sufficientand does not require investment.”

CAE, while supporting MPL, simply views itas an alternative that clients can use to createcommercial airline pilots. “Every customer hasdifferent needs and requirements, and this isone option,” observes Roberts. “We developedan MPL programme because we believe someof the market will want it. We are continuing todevelop other traditional programmes. In theend, we will give our customers what will servethem best.”

SAT, meanwhile, is convinced that MPL is the future of basic pilot training. “Traditional ATP training has hardly changed at all since thestart of the jet era in the 1960s,” Roth declares.“MPL reflects the future use of customisedbasic training for commercial pilots. Increaseduse of synthetic training equipment and anaugmented focus on training in a multi-crewconcept will ensure targeted development ofthe required skills.

“The very early rollout of MPL by SAT meanswe can contribute actively to specificimplementation of the programme, and help toshape the regulatory requirements to a certainextent with the Federal Office of Civil Aviation[FOCA],” she adds. “Increasing trainingeffectiveness by applying MPL is in the interestof our customers. The new training path willallow future airline pilots to prepare better forcommercial cockpit work without having to gothrough all the previous intermediate stages inlicensing (PPL, CPL and IR).”

Just as convinced is CTC’s Clarke. “We’re a longstanding supporter of MPL and believethere is a place for it in the industry,” hedeclares. “Targeting training towards the endgoal of becoming a commercial pilot is one ofthe foundations that our company is built on.Our ab initio programme – CTC Wings – adoptsa ‘vertically integrated’ [VI] approach to training.This mirrors some of the MPL methodology

whereby, wherever possible, we adopt airlinestandards, disciplines and procedures – weapply this philosophy as early as selection.Therefore, our pilots are trained with acontinuous focus on their end goal, rather thantraining to PPL standards and then convertingto commercial operations. Taking a step-by-stepapproach, we continue towards producing anMPL that is workable for all, but before it canreally take off, the carriers do need to beinvolved in the process a great deal earlier thanthe majority are currently willing to be.”

OAA has more than embraced MPL. Thecompany will be launching a programme shortlyin collaboration with Flybe. “On the first course,we will have 12 students who will be trained atOxford. We decided to hold the course here tobe able to manage and control it better, and willbe the first to deliver an MPL course in UKairspace,” Petteford claims.

“To ‘de-risk’ the course for the students, weare creating a parachute scheme. This meansthat should the MPL fail, OAA will provide – atno extra cost – the incremental flying hoursrequired to qualify via the CPL/IR route. Sowe’re not using the students as pawns. Weand Flybe, as 50:50 sponsors of the course,are taking the risk. It might not end up beingthe most profitable thing we’ve done, but howdo you develop new things without puttingfunds in and trying?”

Of course, MPL is not the only advance thatthe training providers are making. Other new orimproved techniques and procedures are indevelopment, aiming to make a difference totraining quality and/or time taken, lowering costswithout losing fidelity.

“One good cost saver is internet-basedtraining on certain topics,” notes Finnair’sLouhivuori. “The pilots can perform this whensuitable for them and in their own time, as long as they are ready on a given date. This wehave seen as a growing trend among cost-conscious operators.”

AAPA’s Davis identifies necessary improve-ments in some basic areas. “Pilot training is essentially a combination of textbookknowledge plus flying and simulator time. Therecan be no substitute for real flying hours, norcan there be any shortcuts, although we employfixed-base trainers extensively to providesimulator time. However, it is in the area ofclassroom training that there can be the mostinnovation,” he opines.

“Classroom training has not changedfundamentally for the last 30 years. At AAPA,we are in the process of evolving towards a total CBT [computer-based training] approach.The beauty of this is that the course instructorwill be able to pinpoint exactly the areas of weakness of each student through thesystem and can tailor the assistance to whereit is needed.”

OAA’s Petteford has similar thoughts,believing that ATPL theoretical knowledge canbe improved. “It’s been stagnant for about 10years. It will improve with the use of CBT, whichhas been successful in type rating training,” he explains. “The initial investment may beexpensive, but by the year-end, the entire ATPLshould be available on CBT.

“Also, good bridge training – converting fromsingle-pilot ops to multi-pilot ops – will make adifference, saving airlines tangible amounts ofcash. It could amount to the equivalent of eighthours of FFS training per student.”

According to CTC’s Clarke, technology is still advancing at a rapid rate, in terms of both simulators – FFSs, FTDs and OTDs – and CBT/WBT. “Whilst there is a need forinvestment in technology to retain fidelity, overallcosts are being reduced through enablingtraining to take place at locations where

it wouldn't previously have been possible,” he highlights.

“Increased fidelity in all training aids isenabling a reduction in all ground school and sim footprints in particular, and thesophistication of OTDs is facilitating a decline inthe number of FFS details previously required.”

As an equipment provider, Mechtronix’sHervé is pleased with the move away fromFFSs. “This is all part of the change that ishappening in training equipment. Ten years fromnow, training equipment will be radicallydifferent. The sensory systems in the humanbrain are better understood now. So if thecueing is done properly, who cares what the

system is, so long as the performance-basedtraining is right,” he states. “However, I believethat there are a whole bunch of people in thisworld who don’t want to see it that way,” headds, cryptically.

■■ TRAINING PHILOSOPHIESThough many of the philosophies of the trainingorganisations overlap, each has ideas of its ownwhich it believes differentiate it from thecompetition. CAE’s Roberts concentrates onthe company’s comprehensive approach.

“We provide an operationally oriented,scenario-based, end-to-end solution supportedby simulation-based training tools from ground school all the way to the simulator. We believe that this is the most efficient way to train the pilot and that it delivers the

highest-quality training,” he confirms. “The end-to-end solution includes many initiativeslike e-learning and is geared to make trainingmore efficient, more cost-effective, withoutsacrificing quality. It can be ‘bundled’ or‘unbundled’ to meet the operational needs ofour customers. We can recruit, screen, selectand train the pilot for you, or we could just sellyou a piece of everything in between – forexample, a simulator hour.”

For SAT, Roth notes customised training andon-site training as advantages. Also, comingoriginally from an airline, operational experienceis strong. “We do carrier-orientated training fromday one, all adapted to the customer’s SOPs[standard operating procedures].”

Time is a differentiating factor at AAPA,according to Davis. “We have proven that ➔

Artist’s impression of the AAPA Training Academy tobe constructed in Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia, by2010, housing all AAPA cadet training and Rex pilot

and cabin crew ground schools.

Computer-based training at CTC AviationServices.

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we can pick a bright high-school student off thestreets, and train him or her to CPL standardplus ME CIR within eight months. This durationwill be shortened for the quicker students onceour complete CBT system is in place. A shortercourse will mean lower fees and, of course, aquicker earning capacity for the trainee pilot. Italso enables airlines to respond in a more timelymanner to changing pilot demand,” he remarks.

Clarke underlines CTC’s policy to remaincarrier-focussed and embrace new technologywherever possible. “Our courses are almostalways conducted around the airline SOPs, and we work closely with individual trainingdepartments to provide a tailored service.

“Finally, innovation remains a key tenet of oursuccess,” he continues, “and some recentexamples include CTC FlexiCrew, launched in

response to the global slowdown to provideflight-deck resourcing solutions for carriersworldwide. The concept has been very wellreceived, and large numbers of pilots havealready been successfully placed.

“About to be launched is CTCi[CTCinteractive], an online library of data andcourses that individual pilots, trainingorganisations and airlines alike can access.”

■■ PERSUASIVE CASEPutting your money where your mouth is canoften be a good way to differentiate yourproduct, and it’s a tactic used by OAA. “Whatdifferentiates us is our willingness to underwritecourses,” Petteford reiterates. “At ab initio level,we assess candidates rigorously and put faithin that assessment. So if a student fails the

course at any point due to unsuitability, werefund 100% of their fees.

“That makes a persuasive case for thoseproviding the funding – the student, parents, thebanks and the airlines – because they see tworisks to their finances: failure of the course, andno employment on completion. So we take halfof that away. In fact, with our graduates currentlyfinding themselves in the middle of a recession,we are paying for recurrent training to keepthem up to date until they find jobs.

“We recently opened a door with an airline,and I was really pleased with a comment from them, when they said something to theeffect of: ‘If you take that ethical position with our white tails, then you’re the sort ofcompany that we’d like to do business with’,”he concludes. ■■