The airline is currently training nearly 300 cadets who are aspiring to become pilots, further strengthening its commitment to nurturing aviation talent.
Video / Emirates
A Kiwi pilot is one of a growing number of international graduates from Emirates Flight Training Academy to fill the right-hand seat of Boeing 777 in the airline’s international fleet.
Emirates launched the academy in Dubai South in 2017, initially to concentrate on training United Arab Emirates nationals. Butin the current batch of more than 270 trainees, about 40 are from other countries, mainly India but others from Europe and Australasia.
While aspiring candidates must go through in-person testing in Dubai at their own expense and the 21-month course costs US$181,000 ($306,000), those running the academy say the course is like nothing else in the world.
Jobs are not guaranteed, but there is a natural path to the first-officer’s seat in Emirates’ 777s where basic pay starts at US$8500 a month (tax-free) based on 85 hours of flying. There is additional flying pay and big benefits and salaries escalate quickly with promotion.
Trainees at the academy not only get accommodation and food they get to fly jets – very sporty Embraers with a top speed of 860km/h.
Vice president of the academy, Captain Abdulla Al Hammadi, said demand grew quickly as the world emerged from the pandemic, during which time the school expanded its campus. International students are back and now many overseas candidates – and airlines – are interested in what’s going on at the big complex near Al Maktoum International Airport, also known as Dubai World Central.
“We’ve seen a spike in demand and the application numbers in the recent months,” he said.
“We’ve had quite a few visits from major airlines to look at partnerships to support growth of pilot demand.”
Captain Abdulla Al Hammadi, Vice President of the Emirates Flight Training Academy in Dubai. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Boeing has forecast demand for 649,000 new commercial airline pilots over the next two decades and Airbus is forecasting the need for 585,000 new pilots in about the same 20-year timeframe.
The academy combines new learning technology and a modern fleet of 30 training aircraft to train cadets with no previous knowledge of flying. Previous flight hours don’t count and after an online application aspiring cadets go through five days of academic, psychometric and medical tests in Dubai.
All graduates have the opportunity to go through Emirates’ recruitment process – which this year had a success rate of 100 per cent to date.
The academy’s fleet has 22 Cirrus SR22 G6 single-engine piston, five Embraer Phenom 100EV light jets, and three Diamond DA42-VI light piston twin-engine aircraft.
Training on three types of aircraft is rare for cadet flight training.
Al Hammadi said the Diamonds were added in response to regulatory changes that meant trainees couldn’t go straight from single-engine planes to a multi-engine jet.
“We see that the Phenom is a good platform for them to leave the academy from, especially if they’re going to the big airlines like Emirates.”
Trainees were given the experience of international flights and exposed to jet handling.
Captain Martin Mahoney is head of training at Emirates Flight Training Academy (EFTA) and is a former RAF pilot who flew Jaguars and was chief weapons instructor for Tornados before working for airlines.
He worked as head of pilot training and safety training for Emirates’ airline crew for 14.5 years before moving to his oversight role at the academy.
“EFTA started as a very small unit, it’s growing and we need to make sure that the process, procedures, practices and policies grow in line with the aspirations of the operation.”
Mahoney said training emphasises “stick and rudder” flying. As aircraft are increasingly automated, trainees still had to be drilled in the basics of flying as most pilots now will have had no experience of something going badly wrong.
“Because they lack that experience, it’s important that we bridge that gap. So the training has got to be relevant and realistic to give them the confidence to know that if it goes wrong, they can handle it.”
Captain Martin Mahoney, head of training at Emirates Flight Training Academy in Dubai.
Mahoney saw how EFTA graduates performed when they first got to the Emirates airline and was impressed - not only with their technical skills.
“The attitude is the one thing that we have seen markedly different, their ability to accept criticism, constructive criticism is vastly improved. When they come to the airline they have a much smoother, easier transition.”
Cultural awareness was important and one of the first things taught so cadets recognise the differences in the cockpit.
“Cultural diversity is the DNA of Emirates, we pull our pilots from the four corners of the globe.”
Human factors – such as recognising the “gradient” of the flight deck – are taught. Some nationalities will question senior pilots, as they should, and others won’t. It was important to get the balance right.
“We show them what the issue is and we make sure that we mitigate against it.”
Mahoney said the cost of training sounds high.
“Take it over a lifetime career and it is good value for money,” he said.
Training to commercial multi-engine pilot level in New Zealand costs well above $100,000 and that excludes living costs. To get a job in this country, pilots typically have to do more flying hours as instructors or overseas to get to the application stage.
The Herald travelled to Dubai courtesy of Emirates
Grant Bradley has worked at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.
