Pilot shortage worries Australia's airlines, flying schools

Australia’s pilot shortage could get worse before it gets better because there are not enough experienced instructors to teach those entering the profession, an aviation expert says.
Stephen Phillips, the head of the aviation academy at the University of South Australia, said figures from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority showed the pool of top-level instructors had been significantly eroded, leaving the industry struggling to train new pilots, particularly in the bush.
The figures, which the authority has not made public, indicate the number of grade 1 instructors fell by 88 to 842 in the 2007-08 financial year. Mr Phillips said figures for the past six weeks suggested the numbers were likely to remain steady for the next 12 months.
“We’re going to need an extra 7300 pilots by 2026, excluding corporate aviation and charter pilots. At this rate, we’re not going to be able to train them. We haven’t done enough to encourage people to become instructors,” Mr Phillips told the Regional Aviation Association of Australia’s annual convention.
The pool of instructors has also been drained by the big airlines, which recruit them to fill the gaps in their pilot rosters. While soaring fuel prices have eased the big airlines’ appetites for pilots in recent months, the aviation industry continues to suffer.
Jim Davis, the managing director of the regional airline REX, said he had had to make one of his star pilots an instructor.
“We’ve managed to recruit one instructor from outside but it’s not easy. We’re still looking for a chief instructor,” Mr Davis said.
03/10/08 Paul Bibby/Sydney Morning Herald, Australia