PIA to induct more pilots - Flights hit by pilot shortage

[Abbas Ali]

KARACHI: As a few flights of national carrier - PIA in the past week had been delayed due to operational reasons, the airline is managing to cope with these delays to cause least inconvenience to its passengers, airline spokesman said here Friday.

"PIA would like to assure its passengers that, it is continuously engaged to provide permanent solution to this problem," he added.

He said that it was pertinent to note that in the last decade or so, planning for the induction of pilots periodically has been lagging behind and thus, presently a shortage of pilots exists. However, the management is engaged in rapidly resolving the problems of crew in PIA.

Consequently, it began the process of hiring enough pilots to cater comfortably for the schedule PIA operates. As a result of this rapid induction process, 67 pilots are already in the pipeline and presently undergoing training.

Moreover, as many as 70 more pilots are in the process of being hired. This is intended to provide a permanent solution of the pilot shortage currently being felt in PIA, thus bringing the planning process back on track in a few months.

PIA’s present management is continuously striving to bring in permanent measures to resolve the drawbacks and inefficiencies it has inherited. PIA expects that in this effort it will get the help of the pilot community and its representatives. The airline expressed hope that in this endeavour to resolve this problem, both the management and the pilots will work together in the best interest of the passengers and PIA.

Source: The News

[Abbas Ali]

Long-range flights hit by pilot shortage

ISLAMABAD, April 7: The Civil Aviation Authority has introduced stringent regulations for pilots following the start of direct across-the-Atlantic flights by the Pakistan International Airlines under its ultra-long range (ULR) operation.

These regulations were new for PIA, said an office-bearer of the pilots association, PALPA, and caused ‘hiccups’ in the operation and aggravated the already serious problem of shortage of pilots.

A source in the airline industry said that despite claims by the PIA management of taking practical steps to overcome the problem, the situation was likely to worsen in coming days. “It is sheer mismanagement because the airline’s administration was well aware of arrival of new jets and should have taken steps in advance to handle the situation,” the source said.

And a source in the airline attributed the problem to inept handling of pilots by the management. He claimed that some 30 captains had left PIA to join other airlines. A large number of others, he added, were “on the wings”.

The PIA management, meanwhile, has accepted difficulties in operations and said it is continuously engaged to provide a permanent solution to the problem.

Blaming the previous management for the problem, it said: “It is pertinent to point out that in the last decade or so, planning for the induction of pilots periodically has been lagging behind and thus presently a shortage of pilots exists.”

Induction of the recently bought Boeing 777-200ER and LR has put a lot of pressure on the scheduling of cockpit crew. The management says that 67 pilots are undergoing training and another 70 are in the process of being hired.

However, it said, it would take a few months before the operations returned to normal.

Source: DAWN

[Abbas Ali]

PIA trying to overcome shortage of pilots

KARACHI: The present management of the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), is endeavoring to solve the shortage of pilot problem and both the management and the pilots will work together in the best interest of passengers and PIA.

In a statement on Friday, the airline said in the past week, a few flights have been delayed due to operational reasons. While PIA is managing to cope with these delays to cause the least inconvenience to its passengers, it would like to assure its passengers that it is continuously engaged to provide permanent solution to this problem.

In this context, it is pertinent to point out that in the last decade or so, planning for the induction of pilots periodically has been lagging behind and thus now a shortage of pilots exists. This has to be understood together with the fact that a newly inducted pilot has to fly the lowest equipment (turbo-prop) for a specific number of hours before he can be ready to fly the next higher equipment (Jets – 737, A310, then wide-bodied aircrafts either 777 or 747) after going through conversion training of 3-4 months. Thus if an airplane higher in weight and complexity, like the recently bought Boeing 777-200ER and LR, a lack of qualified pilots exists, as is now the case. This puts a lot of pressure on the scheduling of cockpit crew.

However, as soon as the present management took over it has regularly been engaged in rapidly solving the problems of crew in PIA. Consequently, it began the process of hiring enough pilots to cater comfortably for the schedule PIA operates. As a result of this rapid induction process, 67 pilots are already in the pipeline and now undergoing training. Moreover, as many as 70 more pilots are in the process of being hired. This is intended to provide a permanent solution of the pilot shortage currently being felt in PIA, thus bringing the planning process back on track in a few months.

PIA’s present management is continuously striving to bring in permanent measures to resolve the drawbacks and inefficiencies it has inherited. PIA expects that in this effort it will get the help of the pilot community and its representatives.

Source: Daily Times

[Charliedelta11]

they've just hired 60 pilots..as they say...and 60 pilots..getting them through their min of 500-1500 hours on a turboprop...then boosting them upto jets...then boosting the F/o's already on A310s over to commad , moving the f/o's on the 737s to the A310...which would take about a year...and then having 60 more pilots in the pipeline...
induction of these 60 pilots=after a year
having them move up would take a year too..
so how long will it actually take to solve this problem ? 2 years..hmm..excellent! just what passengers wanted to see!

[flyingsystem]

they've just hired 60 pilots..as they say...and 60 pilots..getting them through their min of 500-1500 hours on a turboprop...then boosting them upto jets...then boosting the F/o's already on A310s over to commad , moving the f/o's on the 737s to the A310...which would take about a year...and then having 60 more pilots in the pipeline...
induction of these 60 pilots=after a year
having them move up would take a year too..
so how long will it actually take to solve this problem ? 2 years..hmm..excellent! just what passengers wanted to see!

In fact what they can do is to put pilots where there is place. There is no need to change the positions of a lot of pilots at one time! (I heard some months ago that TNT airways hired ab initio pilots, and some of them begun directly on A300 !

So for example they can promote the turbuprop pilots with their 1000-1500h on A310 or something like this. So it is really possible to limit "pilot circulation" and then I think the prob can be solved very quickly.

What you have also to consider is that this "movement" is not periodic, I mean at any time there is a pilot who is being promoted.

[Charliedelta11]

see..the normal thing to do when ur running an airline is to take them up step by step..pilots who have just 1500 hours on their back that too on a turboprop are budding pilots..bumping them onto widebodies like the A310 or the 777 where they are needed is well...idiotic per se...i dont know what TNT airways had in mind but in PIA i know the entire pilot community is going to go crazy if junior pilots are sent up to the 777 while other pilots have been stagnating on other Jets for years..and pilot rotation is necessary to allow co-pilots to get command...it jsut is...

[flyingsystem]

Yes in fact I totaly agree with u, the "TNT story" was just an example. PIA is not a freight carrier! At TNT, the aircrafts are very old, and they don't have to care about passengers.
But what I don't understand, is why PIA block the pilots progression and later they say: "Oh! There is shortage of pilots!" They have to forsee this shortage. They have to hire continuously!

[inducedrag]

Most of the airlines in west and even middle east induct pilots with ALTP licence that means they have a minimum of 1200 hrs flying and they can fly any type of aircraft as pilot in command after type training . In PIA they take CPL holders with only 200 hrs minimum total flying and after flying for at least five years will be able to take ALTP licence then fly any aircraft over 7500 kg in command it will take at least 5 to 6 years of regular induction yo finish pilot shortage if there is no retirement or pilots leaving PIA for better paying jobs with other airlines.

[AirBlue]

Most of the airlines in west and even middle east induct pilots with ALTP licence that means they have a minimum of 1200 hrs flying and they can fly any type of aircraft as pilot in command after type training . In PIA they take CPL holders with only 200 hrs minimum total flying and after flying for at least five years will be able to take ALTP licence then fly any aircraft over 7500 kg in command it will take at least 5 to 6 years of regular induction yo finish pilot shortage if there is no retirement or pilots leaving PIA for better paying jobs with other airlines.

isnt it 1500 hrs ?

[R.F.]

For the Middle East QR and EK hire pilots with 200 -250 hours as well straight on to the wide bodies A300-600 also A320's and for EK B777's with frozen ATPL i.e. only the ATPL written exam is passed. These second officers undergo extensive training even upto 90 sectors of line training prior to being released on the line as First officers. This is in addition to the experienced type/non type rated pilots that are regularly being hired by these companies.

In Europe Britannia has and Easy Jet shortly will be introducing second officers schemes in view of the looming world wide shortage of pilots.

In fact QR has been advertising for Second Officers with the above qualifications in the Flight International and many expatriate pilots are presently undergoing training on the A300-600R's .

[inducedrag]

To get hired as direct F/O in Ek you have to be UAE national

[R.F.]

I reckon you mean S/O 'cause DE F/O's are majority ex-pats both type and Non type rated.