A pilot shortage in New Zealand is causing flight cancellations and industry bodies are preparing to approach the Government and airlines for help.
While Air New Zealand and Jetstar deny the cause of the cancellations, pilots and industry insiders say it is definitely happening – and is becoming more frequent.
They say the issue is symptomatic of the global airline industry under pressure from rapid growth, with financial barriers for trainee and graduate pilots here making overseas jobs appealing.
Air New Zealand pilots told Newsroom cancellations were happening primarily on regional routes each week.
It was happening at the end of the day when pilots are not legally able to work overtime to clear backlogs that may have built up due to standard delays.
New Zealand Air Line Pilot’s Association president Tim Robinson and Aviation New Zealand chief executive John Nicholson both confirmed these reports, and said it was happening with Jetstar, too.
“I have heard about it and it is Jetstar as well on their regional routes,” said Nicholson.
Robinson agreed. He said there were not enough pilots.
“The levels are low and there is certainly not as much fat in the airlines as far as pilot numbers go – there should be more.”
Nicholson said Jetstar was already advertising for pilots overseas and Robinson said they were preparing to approach government and airlines to boost funding and resources for trainee pilots.
Robinson said currently student loan lending for pilots was capped at $35,000 – less than half the cost of the $100,000-plus qualification – and loans were restricted to a certain number of students annually.
“There has been significant growth in the industry over the last 24 to 36 months in New Zealand. We have of course seen Jetstar begin competing with the main carrier [on regional routes]. There are more flights, more seats and that puts pressure on the pilot numbers.
“One of the biggest issues for us is we are not getting enough pilots coming through the training schools.
The number of pilots coming through is simply not enough to supply the airlines if they continue to grow.”
The number of New Zealand pilots receiving Commercial Pilots Licences (CPLs) halved from 241 in 2012 to 120 in 2016, according to Civil Aviation Authority New Zealand figures.
The newly released figures show the total number of recipients – including other nationalities – dropped from 374 in 2012 to just 225 in 2016.
Jetstar is already advertising internationally for pilots to fly its New Zealand regional routes, said Nicholson.
International employment opportunities for all pilots – especially graduates – could be enticing, with larger pay cheques in exotic locations.
Robinson said pilots had to clock up to 1500 hours’ flying experience before they could be employed at a large airline, but entry level positions were very poorly paid.
“They have then got to go out to the industry and get their hours up, sometimes they even have to pay for that as an extra.
“It’s well known through the industry and that is discouraging people from starting. They don’t want to be straddled with a big student loan and have to dip into their own pocket and then get poorly paid.
“So if they can go and get the hours overseas because they can’t get the positions in New Zealand, or the positions here are so poorly paid, some of them might not come back – and that’s a problem for the industry.”
Nicholson said older, more experienced pilots were also being enticed overseas, which left gaps in training.
“There are fewer pilots to train co-pilots and so on and that filters down.”
Air New Zealand told Newsroom there was no issue.
“We have no shortage of pilots or cabin crew. We aim to operate all services as scheduled, however, sometimes cancellations are unavoidable and the most common cause is adverse weather conditions,” said a spokeswoman.
She did not directly answer questions about if the airline had trouble retaining or hiring experienced pilots, and did not provide a breakdown of flight cancellations as she said it was commercially sensitive.
Jetstar spokesman Phil Boeyen said the same.
“This isn’t something we’re experiencing. If we have a pilot-related cancellation it is to do with a pilot taking leave at short notice, such as sick leave.
“Jetstar has 244 flights a week on its regional network and in 2016 averaged around two cancellations per week on each of the five routes (around 10 cancellations per week across the network).”
Both Nicholson and Robinson said their organisations were preparing to approach the airlines and government for help with the problem.
A Ministry of Transport spokeswoman said there was no denying a global shortage of pilots.
“We are aware of a strong demand for pilots globally; however we are not aware that New Zealand’s aviation training standards present an unreasonable barrier to becoming a pilot.
“New Zealand’s pilot training institutions are well regarded internationally.”
She said the Ministry was “always open to hearing from the industry, and would work with them to help address any issues”.
