Flight school lands deal to train 900 Chinese pilots

Feb 22nd, 2006
Flight school lands deal to train 900 Chinese pilots

By Kevin Barrett

Telegraph-Journal

Explosive growth in the Chinese aviation sector is fuelling a major $71 million project with the Moncton Flight College .

This Saturday, officials with the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and China Southern Airlines visit the Moncton area, the latest step in a process formally started after the parties inked a memorandum of understanding last summer.

That deal calls for 900 Chinese pilots to receive training in Moncton over the next five years to meet a huge demand that can’t be met in .

"The requirements for pilot training are not met in and they are not met globally," said Mike Tiller of the Saint John-based CanLink Global, whose company helped broker the MOU arrangement.

"They are really scrambling to find good qualified institutions they can partner with."

As is the case with many areas of the Chinese economy, the aviation and aerospace sector is undergoing tremendous growth.

Mr. Tilley said that annual demand for pilot training is 1,200 and with more than 50 airports under construction in the country, that number figures to escalate even further.

However, the Chinese military controls the country’s airspace, leaving little opportunity for private operations to conduct pilot training.

outsources the bulk of its training requirements, mostly to the but also to the - with a minor share to .

"It is probably a combination of factors," said Mr. Tilley. ’There is a global demand, they feel they need to diversify a little bit, and have been fairly happy training partners and it is harder to get into the than ever before. The timing is quite good."

With increased demands because of current needs and projected growth, opportunities are developing and that’s where the Moncton Flight College and CanLink Global combined to develop the base of the five-year deal which could amount to $71 million.

Mike Doiron, principal and CEO of the Moncton Flight College, took on his role in 1998 after 19 years as a safety inspector and director with Transport Canada and quickly determined that the flight college needed to take advantage of potential learning opportunities in China.

Co-incidently, he had a meeting with Mr. Tilley, whose organization matches Canadian and Chinese entrepreneurs to develop that potential.

CanLink set up meetings with Beijing University and the Moncton Flight College in January 2005 and eight months later, the MOU was announced.

"It had a lot to do with the fact we had a professional training program and lots of ability to absorb students," said Mr. Doiron. "We weren’t maxed out. We had the facilities already in place, ready to go. It was a matter of getting students in the door."

There are a few steps remaining, including this weekend’s visit by Chinese officials.

After that, officials with the Civil Aviation Authority of China will tour the Moncton facility for final inspections.

Students could start traveling to Moncton from Beijing before June.

In years one and two of the program, 100 pilots from will take the 47-week program while the numbers will double to 200 in years three and four with the potential of 300 students in year five.

Many of the Chinese students will have jobs waiting for them. Airlines will watch developments closely in Moncton to see how the program works.

"Their first job would be to move into a small airline operation, like a Dash 8, an RJ or even a 737 or an Airbus 320," said Mr. Doiron. "They are simply being trained up to an airline standard pilot standard. Depending on what airline they go to, that’s when they figure out what airplanes they are going to fly."

The impact on the flight school is significant.

In the best year of its history, which dates back to 1929, the school recorded 20,000 flying hours. In year one of this program, the total could clime to 35,000 and eventually peak at 80,000 in the fifth and final year.

The contract will mean more jobs for the flight college - with staff possibly jumping to more than 100 from current levels of 40 - with new equipment and new aircraft required.

"Prior to 9/11, we were very very busy but for the last three years, we have been in the doldrums," said Mr. Doiron of the industry. "All of a sudden, the industry is ramping up very rapidly and they have cleaned out what pilots were already trained. Now it is catch up time."