BEIJING - Expatriate pilots flying Boeing's most popular plane for Chinese airlines used to be able to take their pick from dozens of jobs paying US$300,000 plus perks thanks to a shortage of experienced aviators there. The grounding of the 737 Max has changed that.
China's growing middle class has put the country on track to be the world's biggest aviation market in the coming next decade. For many local airlines, short-haul workhorses like the 737 became the aircraft of choice in the travel frenzy. But China has long struggled to produce enough pilots on its own: By the end of 2016, Chinese carriers had more than 1,000 foreigners in their cockpits, double the number in 2010.
China was the first major jurisdiction to ground the Max plane, which has been banned from flying since March as Boeing tries to fix a flight-control system implicated in both crashes. The US aviation regulator said in December it won't complete the aircraft's required approvals until 2020. Even then, the Max could take months to reach airlines: European low-cost carrier Ryanair Holdings Plc doesn't expect deliveries before May.
Low-cost carrier China United Airlines, a unit of China Eastern, is still in the market for pilots, offering US$288,000 a year to 737 captains on three-year contracts, according to Wasinc's website. But that's the site's first ad for 737 pilots in China since July. The package includes a monthly education allowance of $1,000 for children in Chinese schools.
Passenger safety comes first.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
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