Airways Aviation is stepping up its efforts to meet the global air transport industry’s growing need for new pilots. According to Boeing, around 27,000 new pilots will be required globally each year between now and 2033. The Asia Pacific region has the greatest need, accounting for more than 11,000 of this annual total.

The company, whose CEO is former British Airways pilot Ian Cooper, now operates pilot training academies in the UK, Spain, Montenegro and Australia. Its focus is on providing ab initio training to take new pilots through to a frozen air transport pilot license (ATPL) qualification (meaning that the training requirements have been met, but the actual certificate cannot be awarded until the candidate has logged a requisite number of flight hours). Many of its new students start in Airways’s network of aviation foundation schools, including one in Malaysia. The schools screen candidates and prepare them to begin flight training under European or Australian regulatory structures.

Airways Aviation (Stand B95) is looking to offer an alternative to longer-established flight training organizations, providing a more holistic approach to the process, including assistance in securing funding. Earning an ATPL costs approximately $130,000 and the company plans to introduce new financing options in the coming months.

“The financing of professional pilot training remains the industry’s Achilles heel, as not everyone can afford to be a pilot,” Airways Aviation business development manager Aaron MacDonald told AIN. “The right aptitude, commitment and passion are crucial, but students have to be able to afford the training.”

At the same time, safety is the paramount concern, and the fast pace of Asia Pacific airline growth poses a particular challenge in this part of the world. “Recent high-profile accidents in the region have highlighted that past compromises have been made in flight crew training, safety and compliance,” said MacDonald. “We’re delivering industry-ready training that is relevant not only today but also incorporates mandatory training to be implemented in the next three to five years.” For instance, as part of its Elite Pathways program, Airways Aviation includes upset prevention and recovery training.

The Airways Aviation training fleet includes a mix of Cessna 172 and Diamond DA42 and DA40 aircraft. Its facilities also include a new Boeing 737 fixed-based simulator at its Brisbane, Australia site, a Bombardier CRJ 200 fixed-based training device and FNPT-II simulators for the DA42.

This year will see Airways Aviation expanding its network of foundation schools with the most recent addition to the network being in the Chinese capital Beijing. “We do not see the demand for trained pilots slowing down throughout China for the foreseeable future,” said MacDonald, when asked if the slowing Chinese economy could dampen demand.

In Australia, Airways Aviation has a new partnership with Southern Cross University, where a commercial pilot license program is now being embedded into a wider business degree. But most of the students at its Queensland campuses come from the foundation schools. “These allow us to establish their aptitude for flying, and by the time they get to Australia, they are almost ready to take to the sky,” explained general manager Laurence Beraldo. “These students have a far better understanding of what they are taking on and so we have a higher success rate.”