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Jul 26th, 2006
Moncton Flight College welcomes Chinese students

Times & Transcript | Money - As published on page C2 on July 26, 2006

Moncton Flight College Welcomes Chinese Students

Latest contract to instruct foreign students inflates school’s international reputation
By Yvon Gauvin

Times & Transcript staffA $2.5-million investment to build a new centre for the Moncton Flight College three years ago is paying big dividends today with the signing of a teaching contract with China worth $10 million over the next two years and as much as $60 million if the contract is extended another three years.

The first group of Chinese students arrived last week and have settled into accommodations provided through the college. Some of the 30 students got a chance to go up in one of the college’s training aircraft for the first time this week and were tickled pink, said MFC CEO and principal Mike Doiron.

Everyone is pleased with the agreement that could see up to 900 Chinese students take the 47-week program at MFC as part of their four-year course at ’s Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Once they complete the MFC program, the new pilots are then trained to handle the large passenger airliners operating in , said Doiron.

It’s been three years in the making but the contract has secured the college its place on the international aviation scene as a top notch training centre. It’s already the largest civilian pilot training program in , he said.

The centre is located at the Greater Moncton International Airport property in Dieppe , not far from the original college site first established in 1929. Since its inception, the college has trained about 15,000 pilots from over 60 countries. It’s earned a reputation as a top producer of commercial pilots in .

Canlink Global of Saint John helped MFC secure the contract while ACOA and the province helped with the expansion. Now, there is even talk of potentially one or more airport colleges elsewhere in the Atlantic Region, Doiron confided.

"This is a great day for MFC, the Greater Moncton Area and the province. With this contract MFC has taken a major step on the international training scene," said Doiron. "Since we’ve signed this contract, we’ve been contacted by many other airlines and agencies wanting to discuss possible training contracts."

" alone needs to train well over 1,200 pilots a year" to meet their rapidly expanding airline industry. does have flight training centres but not enough to meet the demand of the airline companies, he said.

It’s the same in other countries where the aviation industry has rebounded after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the in 2001. There were lean years in the aftermath but the industry is booming again, he said.

The contract also gives the college an opportunity to invest in advanced training systems including simulators and still keep the program costs down. The college has 15 airplanes with six more on order this year and an additional three next year. The college has room for 240 full-time students.

The additional systems will also benefit North American and European students attending the college, he said.

The second group of Chinese students, 36 in all, will be arriving in October along with the Beijing University vice-president who will participate at an official opening ceremonies at the college, Doiron said. The third slightly smaller group is scheduled to arrive in January and a new group every 90 days after that.

This is a huge event both for Moncton and the province, he reiterated. "We’re pretty happy campers."

The college was presented with an award Friday from the Air Cadet League of honouring the school for 60 consecutive years of cadet flight training program. "We’re pretty proud of that, too," he said.