With the aim and intention to fill the 248,000 commercial pilot seats across the Asia-Pacific region within the next two decades, investments in the expedited pilot training programs are being made by private equity firm C&C Alpha Group.

“They cannot go down the traditional route, which takes a number of years; taking people from the military causes its own issues,” Bhanu Choudhrie, C&C Alpha Group’s founder, said.

“So this is bringing in new students, young cadets who are aspiring — especially women cadets,” he said of the new programs.

With the highest demand expected to be coming from Asia Pacific, 617,000 more commercial pilots will be needed globally by 2035, according to Boeing’s 2016 Pilot and Technician Outlook. And within the Asia Pacific region itself, second only to China’s demand for 100,000 of commercial pilot, Southeast Asia alone will require 57,000 pilots.

The growth of low-cost carriers in the region is driven by a number of factors that have all lead to the strong push for more pilots and such factors include ones such as the rise of the middle class in Southeast Asian economies, along with their increased desire for travel.

A partnership between C&C Alpha Group and Singapore-based simulator solution provider Prescient Systems & Technologies formed the basis of the formation of the Alpha Aviation Group. The Multi-crew Pilot Licence (MPL) program introduced by the International Civil Aviation Organization was adopted by the group at the very beginning making it an early adopter of the technology.’

“[MPL] allows for pilots to be trained in a much shorter period of time, doing more hours on the simulator than actual flying hours,” Choudhrie explained.

According to the group, Cadets can complete the accelerated program within 18 to 21 months.

the group’s website says its cadets have been placed with partner airlines such as Air Arabia, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, VietJet Air and Jet Airways and the AAG has “graduated over 800 pilots in the last 11 years,” Choudhrie said.

Choudhrie said that the first of its kind in the Philippines, AAG just launched its new multi-million dollar Airbus A330 and A340 Full Flight Simulator at its training facility in Manila.

According to Choudhrie, this is just the beginning of the revolution of the aviation industry: “Technology has evolved over the last 10 years. And I think more and more, as we go along, we’re going to see more and more technology playing an active role in pilot training, pilots’ safety as well.”

(Adapted from CNBC)

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