Cebu Pacific launches pilot training program

Budget airline Cebu Pacific Air launched a training program for new pilots to secure requirements for its expanding fleet, while broadening the pool of potential candidates by initially shouldering traditionally high tuition fees.

Cebu Pacific said its cadet pilot trading program would create 240 professional pilots over five years.

Candidates will be carefully screened, and will undergo a 56-week training program, after which they will become Cebu Pacific first officers flying domestic and international routes.

Lance Gokongwei, Cebu Pacific CEO, said yesterday the program “will enable Filipinos from all walks to achieve the dream of becoming a pilot.”

$25 million

This profession has traditionally been closed off to all but the most well-off families, with training fees ranging from P2 million to P3.8 million for a one-year program. Even then, employment is not guaranteed, Cebu Pacific said.

Gokongwei said Cebu Pacific would initially shoulder all training fees. Cebu Pacific, a subsidiary of JG Summit Holdings, said it was setting aside $25 million for the program. Candidates will shoulder the P17,000 examination fee.

Those who complete the program can pay for the cost through salary deductions over a maximum of 10 years.

Homegrown pilots

They will also be given the option to prepay the fees should they decide to leave the airline.

Cebu Pacific said the program would formally start in 2018, with the first batch of applicants completed by December this year.

“This program will allow us to train homegrown Filipino pilots with best-in-class international standards,” Gokongwei said.

“Through this program, we aim to have continued access to a pool of highly skilled aviators that would support our growth,” he added.

Cebu Pacific has a fleet of 59 planes. It plans to add 48 more planes through 2022.

It has operations in 37 domestic and 25 international destinations, with over 100 routes.

Core skills

Cebu Pacific noted that 16 candidates would be chosen per batch. The screening process begins online, followed by an on-site screening for core skills and pilot aptitude tests. Cebu Pacific, in partnership with Flight Training Adelaide, will jointly select the final list of candidates.

Learning modules

The budget airline noted that successful candidates would be sent to the FTA campus in Adelaide, Australia for 52 weeks. There, they will undergo learning modules and training and earn diplomas in aviation.

The cadet-pilots will then move on to training on a flight simulator, and then flight time on an actual aircraft, to complete the licensing requirements to become a commercial pilot. Another four weeks will be spent in Manila to obtain a pilot’s license under the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

FTA, founded in 1982, is a provider of world-class, customized aviation training solutions for the fixed wing and rotary wing industry.