• Austrian Airlines looking for an additional 96 future pilots for 2018
• New training aircraft displays red-white-red colors in Arizona, USA
• Prospective candidates can apply at www.austrianpilot.at
Today, November 16, 2017, 24 future pilots are commencing their training to become fully-qualified pilots for Austrian Airlines. Their first training flight in Goodyear, Arizona (USA) will take place in the near future. They will enjoy piloting the first six new training aircraft acquired by Lufthansa Aviation Training (LAT). One of these Cirrus SR20 even displays the well-known red-white-red tail fin (see photo). Accordingly, it is the world’s smallest aircraft featuring the familiar Austrian Airlines livery. It only has room for three people including the pilots. Additional 19 SR20 aircraft will be added to the LAT training fleet in the USA by April 2018.
The theoretical part of the training begins today in Bremen, Germany. Upon completion of the approximate 21-month training period, the participants will be given the Multi-Crew Pilot License (MPL). Subsequently, the graduates will acquire a license for the type of aircraft in which they will begin their flying career at Austrian Airlines. In this case the young pilots will be trained to operate either Bombardier Dash 8-400, Embraer 195 or Airbus A320 aircraft.
For the coming year 2018, Austrian Airlines is looking for 96 future pilots for a total of four courses. The invitation to submit applications targets men and women without any experience as pilots (so-called ab initios). The requirements demanded of prospective candidates include EU citizenship, a higher school certificate, secondary school vocational certificate, or the subject-related higher school certificate or university entrance qualification of the country of origin. Furthermore, candidates should be at least 165 cm tall and have an unrestricted passport. In addition, they should have a very good command of written and spoken German and English. People wearing glasses or contact lenses may only have maximum of +/- 3.0 diopter lenses. More information is available to potential applicants at www.austrianpilot.at.
The Austrian Airlines fleet
Austrian Airlines employs a staff of about 6,700 people at present, including 1,140 pilots. In 2017, Austrian Airlines has already hired 95 ab initio- and around 50 ready entry-pilots. The course starting today is the fourth course for future pilots this year. At present, the fleet consists of 83 aircraft, including eleven long-haul aircraft (Boeing 767 and 777) as well as 72 short-haul and medium-haul jets (Bombardier Dash 8-400, Fokker 100, Embraer 195 and Airbus 320F). Next year, the airline will integrate another Boeing 777 into its fleet.
