Airline seeks more commercial pilots

China’s largest airline, China Southern Airlines, is putting the pressure on its $35 million-plus China Southern West Australian Flying College operations in Perth and Merredin to produce more commercial pilots.

This year, the college expects to have 250 trainees, more than double the usual level, as China Southern expands its more than 540 domestic and international routes, serviced by over 230 aircraft.

The airline, one of the fastest growing in the world, also has about 70 new aircraft on order from Boeing and Airbus, including the super jumbo Airbus A380.

College principal and managing director Wei Ping Duan told WA Business News he expected the number of graduates to double from the 100 pilots who returned to China last year.

The not-for-profit China Southern West Australian Flying College was established in 1993. Based at Perth’s Jandakot airport, it also owns and operates the Merredin aerodrome, 250 kilometres east of Perth. Both have pilot training and accommodation facilities.

The college specialises in training airline pilots from raw recruits with no flying experience, to multi-jet engine instrument rated first officers. All are trained for China Southern Airlines, which does not employ foreign or military pilots.

More than 800 pilots who began their training in Western Australia have gone on to fly with the airline.

Mr Duan said Perth and Merredin were originally chosen for their pristine environments, excellent flying conditions and support from the state and local governments at the time, which included the provision of some of the infrastructure.

At its Perth facility, the college operates 35 single engine propeller GROB 115Cs, five twin engines propeller SENECA Vs and two Citation Cessna jet aircraft, the latter equipped with the high-tech systems used on the Boeing and Airbus aircraft.

The Jandakot facility includes an engineering department, mainten-ance hangars, a computer-based training facility and access to all types of airspace and instrument approach systems.

The college also employs more than 100 people, from flight and ground instructors, to engineers, administrative personnel and operations staff.

Graduates also undergo further training at China Southern Airlines’ flight training centre facility in Zhuhai in Guangdong Province.

At Merredin, the college maintains a village of 15 homes with a further eight near the airstrip.

The college is also embarking on a small expansion plan that will include a new engine shop.

Mr Duan said the expansion was part of a much larger plan, scaled down because of costs, largely brought by increased federal charges.