Many airlines hire rookie pilots

Last week’s Mountain Scene article on Jetstar pilots may have raised some concerns about the limited experience of some co-pilots – but it’s worth looking at the broader aviation industry.

While 1500 hours total experience – with as little as 500 hours “on type”, Jetstar’s Airbus A320s – may not sound like much, the New Zealand Airline Pilots Association is surely looking after the welfare of its members rather than having genuine safety concerns.

As a former commercial pilot and flight instructor, I know many Air NZ pilots – and NZALPA members – who started with as little as 700 hours total time and no on-type experience who now fly into Queenstown.

Worldwide, airlines advertise for pilots with little or no experience. Ryanair, one of Europe’s largest airlines, has a cadet pilot scheme where, if you pay for your own training, they’ll hire pilots with a minimum of 200 hours total.
British Airways have a similar scheme where no experience whatsoever is required but pilots sign a five-year bond to cover training.

Many Asian airlines send pilots to NZ for training, who then become fully trained co-pilots with only 275 hours in their logbook, most of it in single-engine Cessnas. A week after graduating here, they’re flying a Boeing 737 into Hong Kong.

During training, most pilots will do only one or two hours flying daily, with the rest of the day studying.

To obtain the 1500 hours minimum required by Jetstar will mean most pilots have been training for several years before they are in the right-hand seat of a jet under the captain’s supervision.

While it’s understandable NZALPA is looking after the interests of its members – as any good union should do – to raise doubts over safety levels is a strange angle as many of their current members will have had far less experience when they started than Jetstar’s so-called “junior jet jockeys”.

It’s worth noting that all pilots coming into Queenstown on either Air NZ or Jetstar are fully trained, rated and licensed for the job. I for one welcome the competition into Queenstown, and if the timetable suits I’ll be more than happy to fly Jetstar or any other competitor.

JOHN HALLIWELL
Queenstown

Use it or lose it

I’d like to say how disappointing it is that the water taxi service from Frankton every morning at 8am is used by only four of us. It can pick up commuters all the way along Kelvin Peninsula, dropping us right into Queenstown Bay and leaving there every night at 5.30.

I live at the very end of the peninsula and it takes me six minutes to get to Queenstown, against about 15 minutes to drive, not to mention finding a park and then walking.

It’s a lovely way to start the day, winter and summer, with a stroll to the lake’s edge and then boating to work for $7.50 each way.

One of the four passengers is an accountant and he’s sure that, taking into consideration all the costs of driving, the water taxi would be about the same.

The water taxi operators started something – at great expense – which everyone said they’d use but they won’t be able to continue unless we get some more on board.

All you need do is be on any jetty from 8am, or 8.03am in Kelvin Grove – and you’ll avoid those winter roads too.

GILLIAN BEZETT
Kelvin Heights

Pat on the back

There’s always someone willing to tell you that Queenstown’s cooked its goose, has sustained too much development, or simply isn’t appealing to visitors anymore.

But I’ve operated corporate conferences and incentive groups to all parts of the world for 15 years and have a pretty good feel for what works as a destination and what doesn’t.

I recently encouraged a client to bring his conference group of 350 Aussies to Queenstown next winter, instead of his preferred destination in Asia. The initial response was: “New Zealand in winter ... why would we do that?”

However, following support from Kylie Brittain at Destination Queenstown and an exceptional group of your local tourism operators, the client came to see for himself – and he’s now booked the conference.

This group will put $500,000 of direct spend into the Queenstown economy.

Be proud that your local products in the main are superb and your tourism operators are world-class. They cooperate for the greater benefit of the region like nowhere else in the world.

Queenstown is the example I use when consulting to overseas destinations on how operators need to cooperate if they want to grow. So take a pat on the back, all of you.

WAYNE HARRIS
Auckland