Fly Lah!

PETALING JAYA: The demand for pilots and other cabin crew is expected to surge next year in line with the expansion of the local airline industry.

Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) flight operations director Capt Datuk Yahaya Abdul Rahman said the aviation industry would soon provide more job opportunities as local airlines were expanding aggressively.

He said Malaysia Airlines were buying new aircraft in the near future, and would be needing more pilots.

“There is no need for pilot trainees to worry,” he said, adding that although it may be difficult for them to secure jobs at the moment, the situation would soon improve.

Yahaya said the eight flying schools in the country licensed by the DCA were training pilots for the expected increase in demand.

The Star reported yesterday that the number of flying schools in the country had quadrupled from two to eight in three years, resulting in some 500 fresh pilots being jobless.

Royal Selangor Flying Club president Major (R) Abdul Razak Hashim attributed the current jobs shortage in the aviation industry to the economic downturn.

“The demand for pilots will shoot up by next year,” he said, adding that in the meantime, trainees could apply to join the country’s air force to gain diverse experience.

He advised trainees not to be choosy with jobs, and not to “do it for the glamour.”

“Don’t insist on working only for the commercial airlines,” he said.

Razak suggested that local flying schools offer training programmes accredited by European Union (EU) countries, which would make them marketable there.

“Malaysian flying academies currently provide licences that are only recognised locally,” he said, adding that it limited the new pilots from joining other international airlines.

PETALING JAYA: Overseas flying school graduates have to fork out up to RM100,000 for an additional course to obtain a local commercial pilot licence (CPL) if they want to fly in Malaysia.

Offered by local flying schools, the course requires participants to pass the CPL theory examination, airline transport pilot licence (ATPL) theory examination, and log at least 35 flying hours.

Upon completion they can apply with local airline companies.

However, many did not know about this and ended up jobless or working in another field as they could not afford the local fees having spent money training overseas.

Anthony Dass Emmanuel, 39, said the recruitment agency which helped him apply for a flying course in the Philippines neglected to inform him that he would need a local licence to get a job in Malaysia.

“I paid RM170,000 to learn how to fly in the Philippines because it’s much cheaper there. I found out halfway through my course that I would need to do an additional programme in Malaysia,” he said.

He is now working as a supervisor at a car accessories company to support his family as he could not afford the RM100,000 fee.

Currently working at a call center, R. Kamaraj, 22, said the course fee was exorbitant and a heavy burden to many.

“If we were informed about it beforehand, we might have just decided to study at a local school and bear the high fees instead,” he said, adding that he had already spent the RM100,000 to obtain his local CPL in Sept 2009 but had yet to secure a job as a pilot until now.

Department of Civil Aviation’s flight operations director Capt Datuk Yahaya Abdul Rahman said the course was necessary for foreign licence holders.

“Without our assessment, we have no way of knowing if they are proficient pilots,” he said.

He said course fee was determined by each flying school.

“We do not control the fees for courses offered by the schools,” he said.

When contacted, most local flying schools said they charged between RM50,000 to RM100,000 for the course.

Currently, local students are paying about RM250,000 for a flying course which encompasses three levels: private pilot licence, CPL and ATPL.

Sulz wrote:this Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) talk bull crap!!!!!Next year the industri is going to be ok and the demand is going to be better!!!that comment is intented for Mas pilot sons or employee and Air asia pilot sons too...for the Private who work hard for their pilot wings.....Have to wait till we are our late 30s.....then MAYBE!!!!!!they will reconsider the private student.........