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4 July, 2018

Qantas’ pilot shortage forces airline to put jumbo jets on domestic services

A pilot shortage has caused Qantas to put its ageing 747s to work on some domestic services.

As the airline struggles to train enough pilots to fly its fleet of 737s, 747 jumbo jets will operate on four services a day between Sydney and Perth from July 30, and will also replace the 737s with larger A330s on some services between Perth and Singapore.

Fairfax reports the shortage has been made worse by the airline’s introduction of 14 new Boeing 787 Dreamliners to their international operations, as pilots are still playing catch up on flying the ultra long-haul aircraft from its 737 workforces.

The airline is also using some of its larger A330s from domestic services to make trips to New Zealand to make up capacity after alliance partner Emirates axed its trans-Tasmin services earlier this year, putting more pressure on its 737 fleet.

Sources have told Fairfax that many 737 pilots have reached their maximum 1000 flight hours over a 12 month period, creating more problems for rostering their already stretched workforce.

On top of all this, the airline is also having difficulty finding enough training instructors to produce more 737 pilots, according to internal communications sent to Fairfax.

According to Australian and International Pilot Association president, Murray Butt, training systems for Qantas are running at maximum capacity and do not expect relief until the end of the year.

“[Qantas is] currently going through one of the biggest pilot training programs in its history,” A spokesperson for the airline told Fairfax.
“The training does take time and the Qantas Group has very high standards. Fortunately, the flexibility of our fleet allows us to minimise disruptions to customers.”

The airline is trying to ease the problem by applying for permission to bring foreign flight instructors in on working visas to train more pilots.

Meanwhile, Qantas’ new regional pilot training academy is scheduled to open in 2019 as part of the group’s plans to build a long-term talent pipeline for its airlines and meet the increasing need for skilled aviators in one of the world’s fastest-growing industries.

Estimates suggest the global airline industry needs more than 640,000 more pilots over the next 20 years – 40 per cent of them in the Asia Pacific region.

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747 pilot shortage qantas