Regional Aviation Essay

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Towards the end of his presentation, John Bent focused mainly on the importance of training and professionalism in the aviation industry. He emphasised that the rate of retirement and the supply of adequately trained new-comers in the aviation industry is currently out of balance and will cause trouble as time progresses when experienced baby-boomers are forced to retire, rising inexperience will cause risks in safety.

Training is a very important aspect in aviation, especially in relation to pilots. From a customer’s perspective, I personally would feel at more ease to know that the aircraft is flown by an experienced and trained pilot. As per John Bent’s presentation, the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific region has a strong demand for pilots, doubling the current numbers in prediction for 2033 where the industry will see a need for 533,577 pilots (John Bent, 2015). In order to meet the anticipated high demands, airlines will need to focus more on pilot recruitment and promotion which is lacking. Qualified pilot training schools in Australia are limited in numbers, and often potential candidates from the Asia region, in particular China, choose to train in Australia due to weather conditions, military restriction limitations and qualification issues (News.com.au, 2015). The UNSW Flying School (Flying stream) based in Bankstown, for example, attracts students from Asia-Pacific region for its reputation and the connection to the University. In my opinion, in order for flying schools to attract more trainees and generate interest, partnerships should be formed with airlines, such as the recently announced partnership between UNSW and Qantaslink is an excellent opportunity to appeal to potential trainees and persuade them to choose UNSW over other options. Such partnership also provides the trainees a more professional approach with mentoring from experienced Qantaslink pilots (UNSW School of Aviation, 2015). In addition to actions to be taken by training school, laws and regulations should also be updated to ensure the same standards and consistencies are maintained. Another factor to taken into consideration would be the promotion of regional and general aviation to potential trainees. Trainees often are lured to pursue international careers and the regional and general aviation sectors are left behind. Training schools and regional airlines should consider advertising and educating the trainees the benefits of the regional market to generate interests and ensure demand can be met.

Ultimately, from John Bent’s presentation, we are able to see that the future for aviation in 10 years’ time is bright with a few implications to overcome. The demand and supply of professionally trained personnel will ensure the industry standards are not compromised and well maintained. Most importantly, the importance of regional and general aviation growth should not be left behind, in particularly with the rapid growth of the Asia-Pacific region’s international sector.

References

John Bent, 2015. The Air Transport Industry 10 years out - a vision for 2025 [Lecture PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://moodle.telt.unsw.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=718896

Airbus Group, 2011. Future by Airbus. Retrieved from

http://www.airbus.com/innovation/future-by-airbus/

Airbus Group, 2014. Airbus Group – E fan electric aircraft. Retrieved from

http://www.airbusgroup.com/int/en/innovation-citizenship/airbus-e-fan-the-future-of-electric-aircraft.html

UNSW School of Aviation, 2015. UNSW Aviation and Qantaslink. Retrieved from

http://www.aviation.unsw.edu.au/news/2015/QantasLinkCollaboration.html