Airline News
Pilot exodus at South Korea’s carriers
October 16th 2015
Mainland carriers lure South Korean cockpit crew with the promise of better wages and better working conditions, leading to the resignation of local pilots, Yonhap News Agency reported on Monday. Read More »
According to the transportation ministry, the number of pilots who left South Korea's largest carrier, Korean Air Lines, during the January-July period this year came to 42. This has already surpassed the 26 pilots who left the company in 2013 and 27 in 2014. The number of pilots quitting No. 2 carrier Asiana Airlines is also on the rise, with the figure coming to 29 during the first seven months of the year. The corresponding numbers for 2013 and 2014 stood at 24 and 31.
"I would go right away if I get an offer. No doubt about it," an Asiana pilot told Yonhap. "It has become a casual greeting between close co-workers to say, 'You're still here? Why haven't you left?'"
"China's demand for pilots is spiking, especially recently, as many low-budget carriers are entering the market," said Shim Jae-hong, a transportation ministry official. "They are in need of pilots right away and South Korean pilots might be their easy choice, given they are highly qualified and both countries have many things in common when it comes to culture," he added.
On the Mainland, pilots may earn up $300,000 in annual wages, about three times as much as what their Korean counterparts offer.
In its 2015 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook, Boeing last month forecast the Asia-Pacific would have the greatest demand for commercial airline pilots and maintenance technicians with 40% of the global need to 2034, or 226,000 new commercial airline pilots and 238,000 new technicians. According to the report, China’s projected demand is 100,000 new pilots and 106,000 technicians.
Several new training facilities have opened across the region in recent years in response to the growing shortage, including Pan Am’s Flight Training Academy in Bangkok, an ANA Holdings subsidiary.
