Pilots to get their wings via Qantas
AUSTRALIA'S national carrier, Qantas Airways, is to train 74 Boeing 737 pilots and 60 crew members for China's Yunnan Airlines.
The students would be trained in Melbourne over the next two years, on flight simulators and in aircraft, Xinhua (the New China News Agency) said yesterday.
'The city will provide a variety of terrain to let the trainees get familiar with different flying conditions, training in some of the busiest airports in the southern hemisphere,' the report said.
Qantas re-launched services from Sydney to Beijing early this year following an eight-year absence.
The service was suspended in 1987 after the airline recorded three consecutive years of losses.
The Xinhua report quoted an unidentified Qantas official, who said the airline was interested in setting up 'long-term co-operative ties with China', possibly covering maintenance, training, food service, baggage consignments and cargo.
Other management training schemes were also being considered, the report said.
Qantas has signed letters of intent with Shanghai Airlines, Yunnan Airlines and China Southwest Airlines to provide various aviation-related services.
