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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1492.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT FLIGHTCREW DAVID LEARMOUNT / LONDON Russia struggles to recruit pilots Staff emigrate for better pay and conditions as professional training industry faces threat from policy changes FREIGHTERS GUY NORRIS / LOS ANGELES Boeing upbeat on cargo fleet growth Some Russian pilots are heading abroad for better-paid jobs Aeroflot studies school option Aeroflot, which has had its pilot working practices recently checked and approved by transportation department inspectors, according to chief pilot Anatoly Yakimchuk, is now thinking of setting up its own pilot training school, because it always has to give training school graduates months of additional training anyway. Russia's second largest airline Sibir has just hired 14 new pilots from regional carriers to replace the 19 it lost to airlines that pay better, the Moscow Times quotes its pilot union head Vladislav Bayev saying. :argo fleet growth Russian airlines are facing a pilot- shortage crisis because the number applying for jobs and training has plunged to a tenth of what it used to be and the industry is growing in size, according to a detailed study published in the Moscow Times. As a result, the average pilot age and the number of flying hours per crewmember are both rising rapidly, with low aircrew pay cited as the principal reason. The average annual pay of a com mercial pilot in Russia is $9,500. Oleg Prikhodko, the head of the Bashkirian Airlines pilot union, says: "Pilots are leaving airlines, and those who stay are treated like slaves." An airline captain identified only by the Moscow Times as Sergei says he moonlights as a taxi driver at the end of his rostered flying day for a domestic airline. Miroslav Boichuk, president of the Cockpit Personnel Association, says: "If [industry growth] contin ues at such a pace, in two to three years we will not have enough pilots to meet demand." Professional training in Russia, including for airline pilots, is still free to the trainees, but there are no longer queues outside the flying training school gates, the newspaper Boeing has issued another strong 20-year freighter fleet forecast against growing speculation that the company is studying accelerat ing a go/no-go decision for its pro posed 747 Advanced project, widely expected to be led by the freighter version if launched. Although officially not expected to make its formal "authority to offer" decision in 2005, with a pos sible programme launch in late 2006, sources close to the project suggest consideration is being given to bringing forward to later this year a decision to continue product development. The stretched 747 project is dependent reports Valery Zaorov, head of the Sasovo flight school in Ryasan, 170km (105 miles) south east of Moscow, as saying. He adds that the number of trainees has fallen to a tenth of what it was in Soviet times, and that his school is training 25 pilots a year when it used to be training up to 500. Pilots are leaving for foreign airlines including Ryanair, Korean Air and Vietnam Airlines, which all pay more - some many times more. Despite this, says Zaorov, the airlines are reluctant to hire flying school graduates. Pridhoko alleges that, although Bashkirian does not demand its pilots work more than the statutory maximum 80 flying hours a month, some airlines require them to fly up to 150hamonth. Meanwhile, another change may be looming. The government has proposed that the ministry of edu cation should take over responsibil ity for professional as well as acade mic training, which has frightened the airlines and other industries. They fear this could bode the end of state-provided professional training because of budget priority changes the education department may bring, leaving industry or individu als facing the training costs directly. on derivatives of the engines being developed for the 7E7, meaning that entry into service remains 2009 at the earliest. Boeing denies that any decision is to be made soon, and the com pany says that there has been "no change" to the announced 747 Advanced timescale. Internally, Boeing is known, however, to be debating putting the product development focus on its 777-200XLRF, a proposed HOt (242,0001b)-payload long-range freighter variant based on the 777- 200LR platform. This aircraft could enter service "late in the decade", says Boeing, bringing it into head-to-head com petition with the 747 Advanced for development dollars. In its latest market forecast released on 12 August, Boeing con tinues to predict strong demand for cargo aircraft, and for large wide- bodied freighters in particular. Aircraft in this category, 65t and above, range from the Airbus A340 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10 to the Airbus A380, Boeing MD-11 and 747 and are expected to account for 60% of the world fleet by 2023 compared with 44% today. Between now and 2023, Boeing forecasts 436 new deliveries, 270 retirements and 492 conversions in this category. In all, it predicts 2,950 cargo aircraft will enter the fleet and 1,290 will be retired - the biggest group of which (857) are expected to come in the narrow- body category. This sector also accounts for the largest conversion market of any group, with 1,184 forecast. The medium widebody sector, covering the 40-65t range, is expected to see 236 new deliveries over the period. Around 133 are expected to be retired and a further 550 converted. Overall, Boeing forecasts around 2,226 conversions in all categories between now and 2023. www.fliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 17-23 AUGUST 2004 9
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