Hong Kong pilot school hoping to work with banks, airline partners to ease tuition fee burden
- Hong Kong International Aviation Academy to identify loan options for cadets paying HK$800,000 in tuition fees for government-backed, self-financed course
- ‘For this course, we are still liaising with banks and partnered airlines to help [cadets] financially, instead of paying the full amount upfront,’ school adds
A pilot training school run by the Airport Authority Hong Kong is hoping to work with banks and partnering airlines to ease the training fee burden for cadets as part of efforts to meet the growing demand for talent.
Simon Li Tin-chu, president of the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy, acknowledged tuition fees of HK$800,000 (US$102,500) posed a challenge for aspiring pilots, with the school to identify loan options to help support cadets.
The self-financed training programme was approved by the Civil Aviation Department earlier this year, with its first-ever course starting on November 6 and running for 14 months.
The school aims to foster 100 local cadets each year to work with partners Hong Kong Airlines, HK Express and Greater Bay Airlines.
“Airlines require trainees participating in their cadet programmes to repay the training costs to the company in the future,” he said earlier this month. “For this course, we are still liaising with banks and partnered airlines to help them financially, instead of paying the full amount upfront.”
After passing an aptitude test, interviews and a medical assessment, cadets must undertake six months of studies in Hong Kong and another eight months of flight practice in the United States.
Towards the end of the course, the school also organises preliminary interviews for trainees with the three partnered airlines to help provide conditional job offers.