CTC win Qatar pilot training deal

by CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, TOM BALLANTYNE  

July 1st 2012

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With huge numbers of aircraft on order in coming years, Middle East airlines will need hundreds of new pilots. Gulf operator, Qatar Airways, which has more than 250 planes on order, has awarded a five-year pilot training contract to CTC Aviation.

New Zealand-based CTC, which also has training facilities in the UK, trains 2,000 ab-initio and experienced pilots each year for approximately 50 clients around the world.

Qatar operates 108 aircraft, but has orders in place worth over $50 billion for B787s, B777s, A350s, A380s and the A320s. The airline’s chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, said the airline has pilot recruitment campaigns taking place around the world. A supply of graduate pilots from the “CTC Wings” programme will form a key part of the pilot intake in future years.

* Indian low-cost carrier, IndiGo Airlines, also has signed with the CTC Aviation Group for pilot training.

“We wanted to take our pilots out of their normal working environment and immerse them in a training development programme that fully identifies with their needs,” said IndiGo vice-president of flight operations, Saleem Zaheer. 

IndiGo operates 56 of an order of 280 A320 jets, which will be delivered to the end of 2025.