Market pushes pilot demand sky high
In order to meet high demand, Shanghai Airlines (SAL) is on the hunt to recruit 10 more foreign pilots, the company's senior officer says.
According to senior vice-president Ding Xingguo, a local pilot shortage means that the company has no choice but to employ foreign airmen, even though the costs are comparatively high.
Currently, the airline employs 550 pilots, including 53 foreigners. But only two of them, who were introduced last June, fly passenger airplanes, while the rest captain cargo planes.
The average age of the pilots, all of whom are men, is below 35 years old.
Incorporated in 1985, SAL flies to over 150 domestic, international and regional destinations. It has a fleet of 59 aircraft, with the main type being the Boeing 737, 757 and 767 series.
Before the 1990s, the company's pilots were mainly ex-servicemen from the Chinese Air Force. Since then, the airline has started to recruit more flight institute graduates, Ding says.
Since China's opening up, the aviation industry has flourished, increasing by 20-30 percent every year.
More air routes and airports have opened in the past few decades. However, backward management practices, poor facilities and a shortage of pilots have been ongoing problems.
Ding explains that it takes about eight years to train a new graduate to become a captain. Before they can fly the bigger aircraft, a training pilot has to accumulate 5,000 hours of flying time. Consequently, the supply of pilots has failed to meet the market demand. Also, more privately run airlines have entered the industry over the past few years, making the recruitment of pilots more competitive.
In contrast, the Western aviation industry has shrunk since the Sept 11 attacks on New York's World Trade Center. A few airlines even went bankrupt, and some of these pilots who lost their jobs looked to China, Ding says.
In 2002, Shenzhen Airlines became the first local carrier to introduce foreign airmen, many coming from Brazil.
SAL first introduced 14 foreign cargo aviators in 2005 and the airline now looks for passenger flight pilots.
However, even though they have broadened their recruitment base, Ding says that it is still difficult to lure pilots from overseas.
Ding adds that hiring a foreign pilot is expensive, not only in terms of salary, but also because of what is spent getting them accustomed to their new environment.
Gu Ye is responsible for helping the airline's foreign pilots get acquainted with their new home. He also acts as a translator, often handling a mountain of administrative work for the company and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
"Only senior first officers with good English skills, who sit next to the captain, are allowed to fly with the foreign captain," Gu says. "They also need extra training in cooperation. So far, the number of first officers we have trained has expanded to 42."
Lu Haiping, commissar of the company's flight crew department, says that the local staff has learned a lot from the foreign pilots and their professionalism.
(China Daily 01/11/2008 page18)
