Air Astana marks 10th anniversary of ab-initio pilot training program

None
None
ASTANA. KAZINFORM Air Astana has marked the tenth anniversary of the highly successful ab-initio pilot training program with the promotion of 10 graduates of the course from First Officer to Captain. 

This brings the total number of ab-initio graduates reaching Captain to 22 since 2015. These new Captains are flying on Air Astana's fleet of Boeing 767/757, Airbus A320/A320neo family aircraft and Embraer 190, the company's official website reads.

The ab-initio pilot training program was launched in 2008 to help alleviate a shortage of local qualified pilots and provide an opportunity for young people to enter a well-paid profession with a prestigious airline. Since that time, two hundred Kazakhstani cadets have graduated and are flying with the airline as First Officers and Captains. The year-round program continues to deliver around 20 qualified pilots to the airline every year following training Atlantic Flight Training Academy in Cork, Ireland and Flight Training Europe in Jerez, Spain.

The training course lasts up to 18 months, with Air Astana pre-paying the US$100,000 course fee for each ab-initio pilot. Cadets are required to reimburse only 50% of course fees during their service with the airline. Air Astana is notably different from other carriers operating similar programs in that it does not require any kind of financial guarantee from cadets.

Citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan, aged between 18 and 34, who speak good English, as well as those with knowledge in the field of physics and mathematics, are eligible to apply for the program at job.airastana.com

Currently reading