Emirates will require 20 percent of the 60,000 pilots needed in the Middle East over the next two decades if it is to keep abreast of its expansion goals, the airline’s senior flight training officer told AIN in an exclusive interview.

That means, based on Boeing’s Current Market Outlook figures, the Middle East needs to add 8.2 new pilots a day for the next 20 years. Emirates Captain Martin Mahoney, senior v-p flight training, said the airline must increase its pilot cadre to 16,000 from today’s roster of 4,000 pilots, and only trains 500 a year in-house. That leaves a shortfall of 100 pilots per year.

Emirates’ pilot training facilities are spread across three training colleges in Al Garhoud in Dubai. On occasion it also uses the Emirates-CAE Flight Training (ECFT) facility at Dubai Silicon Oasis for A319 training as well as recruitment assessments. ECFT was founded in 2002, and is jointly operated by Emirates and CAE, an international civil and defense pilot training company.

The flag carrier airline has an extensive training operation that is distinct from ECFT. “We have nine, soon to be 10, full-flight simulators: five for the Boeing 777, three–soon to be four–for the Airbus A380, and one for the A330/A340 types,” said Mahoney. Included among the 10 simulators, Emirates also has two full flight simulators at the ECFT facility in Al Garhoud.

“Spreading our simulator assets around three colleges provides us with a degree of business continuity, should there be an issue with one of those buildings.” Emirates also has two full-flight simulators dedicated to cabin emergency training, one for the Boeing 777 and one for the A330/A340. In addition it has a static A380 cabin emergency trainer.

Mahoney said Emirates is working at capacity to accommodate the airline’s rapid expansion. “Currently we are able to train all of our pilots in-house,” he said. “I am also responsible for safety and emergency procedures training for pilots and our 20,000-plus cabin crew.”

Third-party Training

Emirates often receives requests from other airlines for training, not for pilot conversion courses, but for instructor training. “We are world leaders for evidence-based training. Outside Emirates crew, we don’t train pilots but we do train instructors. We currently have pilots from 100 different countries working for Emirates. We don’t fear the cultural diversity, we embrace it,” Mahoney said.

Standard company induction takes seven days. Standard conversion courses for the A330, 777 or A380 take around 40 days and are fleet-dependent. Training includes distance learning, computer-based training, classroom work, tutorials, fixed-based training development and flight simulators.

Once a new pilot has demonstrated that he or she has the required knowledge and skills, they are allowed to start flying under an experienced instructor. Generally, the pilot flies 10 flights (or 20 sectors) before being released to the line.

“During the training we try to expose the pilot to as many of the regions we work in as possible,” said Mahoney. “Given the fact that we fly daily to six continents, this exposure is very important. The vast majority of pilots who join us are experienced, with between 2,000-2,500 hours.” If a pilot is already experienced, he or she is trained under Zero Flight Time rules, which means the first time they fly, they will do so with a full passenger load, which is admissible under regulations.

Around 10-11 percent of Emirates’ pilots are Emirati. “In the case of less experienced pilots, we conduct base training on an empty aircraft before they are allowed to fly with passengers. Those pilots are from our very successful national cadet pilot program. The regulations require a minimum of six take-offs and landings during base training. They need the experience of handling the big jets. This base training only involves UAE pilots,” Mahoney said.

ECFT’s website says it provides pilot and maintenance technician training for operators of commercial, business and civil helicopter aircraft in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America, and works with 20 national aviation authorities to meet their needs. Mahoney said assistance from ECFT trainers was invaluable in situations where workload reached a peak, such as the planned delivery to Emirates of three A380s in one month, last December. “That peak sometimes takes us over our internal capacity; when that happens, we outsource to high quality training providers,” he said.

“We have a very close and good working relationship with CAE. We have used their instructors in the past to deliver our 777 conversion course, but that is only after we have trained them to our exacting standards. The training program mirrors the aircraft delivery schedule,” he said. Like several other senior management staff, Mahoney must stay acutely aware of the market availability of new aircraft. “For the past seven years, we have learned never to say never. Wherever and whenever a commercial opportunity presents itself, we have demonstrated the flexibility and willingness to take it.”

Currently in-fleet are the A330, the A380, the 777 and four A340s, as well as one A320-type VIP aircraft. The current trend is for the A330s and A340s to be phased out. “We are flexible enough to deal with whatever comes our way. Our job is to keep the standards high whilst supporting the airline expansion,” Mahoney said.

“I have good overview of the aircraft entering into the Emirates fleet over the next four-to-five years, as do senior management whose roles are inextricably linked to aircraft deliveries,” he added.

Emirates’ constant expansion does not make Mahoney’s life any easier. “We work very hard to make sure we have sufficient pilots to meet requirements. There are challenges, and those challenges are being met,” he said. “We have very good benefits, and remain a popular airline for any pilot who wants to enjoy the experience of scheduled flying, to six continents, on one of the youngest fleets in the world.”

Emirates claims to be No. 2 in the world for its safety record, while airlineratings.com put Qantas on top in its January rankings. “We are there because of the effort put in not just by pilots but by everyone working with the airline. We will never compromise on safety,” he said.

“We cannot train for every scenario that may happen to a pilot in his career. We therefore need to train our pilots to be resilient. We try to give the pilot the knowledge, skills and confidence to deal with an unknown event in flight,” Mahoney said. Weather, terrain, aircraft defects can all challenge a pilot and Emirates trains its crews to deal with them. “In the main, people join the aviation industry because of a love of flying. They enjoy what they do. Can it be stressful on occasions? Yes, it can,” Mahoney added.

The recently launched sector from Dubai to Panama City is 17-plus hours. “That is a lot of time on autopilot. This brings with it its own challenges. Even at cruise, our pilots have to be ready to take over in the unlikely event that the automatics ever fail. Pilots love to fly, so they look forward to getting their hands on the controls during take-off and landing, even if those take-offs and landings are in poor weather or challenging environments. It’s not stressful so much as it is exhilarating,” he said.

In the case of the A380 and the 777, the Emirates order book is larger than the existing fleet. Mahoney is determined to meet the challenges of the airline’s growth. He said, “We offer a standard of training acknowledged throughout the region and the world. We cannot and will not allow anything to stop expansion.”