To help alleviate a national pilot shortage amid strong travel demand, Canadian discount carrier Flair Airlines is launching its own fast-track training program.
The Edmonton-based carrier, which is privately held, is partnering with Genesis Flight College in Collingwood, Ontario to offer a new airline pilot training program that will speed up the time it takes for new pilots to be certified on large commercial aircraft in Canada.
Candidates will enter the program with no flying experience and 18 months later will qualify to become pilots on Flair Airlines' Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, the company said in a news release.
A pilot shortage has gripped the aviation industry in Canada and the U.S. due to an aging workforce and the rapid proliferation of new discount airlines that are putting pressure on the available number of certified pilots.
Flair Airlines, Canada’s newest discount carrier, had just three aircraft at the start of 2021 but has quickly expanded to a fleet of 21 Boeing 737s, offering service to 30 destinations.
International consulting firm Oliver Wyman has estimated that the North American aviation industry could be short 30,000 pilots by 2032 if current rates of attrition continue.
While Transport Canada requires a pilot trainee to have at least 250 hours of flying time to qualify for an airline transport pilot license, most pilots working for major airlines have far more experience than that.
However, as pilots become harder to find, airlines have begun hiring people with less experience, as little as two years flying smaller planes as opposed to the five to 10 years it used to take to get hired as an airline pilot.
For its part, Flair says its news program will meet all of Transport Canada's regulatory requirements and will adhere to the highest industry standards for training and safety.
Flair is expected to accept its first cohort of 10 pilot trainees in January 2024.
Students accepted into the program will receive a conditional offer of employment with the airline and transition directly to working for Flair upon completion of the training course.
Flair Airlines is privately held. Its stock does not trade on a public exchange.
Related Stories
