CHINA TOPIX

04/20/2024 07:49:30 am

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Chinese Airlines Splashing Cash to Lure Foreign Pilots

Chinese airlines are offering attractive salaries to foreign pilots in an attempt to lure them and meet domestic demand.

(Photo : Getty Images) Chinese airlines are offering attractive salaries to foreign pilots in an attempt to lure them and meet domestic demand.

China is offering high salaries to lure foreign pilots in a bid to meet the increasing demand of air travel in the country.

China, which is the fastest-growing aviation market in the world, is expected to have 7,210 commercial planes and 100,000 pilots in a span of 20 years, according to Business Insider.

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A Bloomberg report published on Wednesday pointed out that China needs to hire close to 100 pilots every week over the next two decades in order to satisfy the growing demand.

"When we ask an airline, 'How many pilots do you need?,' they say, 'Oh, we can take as many as you bring.' It's almost unlimited," said David Ross, the president of Las Vegas-based recruiting company, Wasinc International.

The recruitment company caters to several China-based carriers including Chengdu Airlines and Qingdao Airlines. Many such airlines are willing to pay five times more than its Asian competitors for recruits and start-ups are offering nearly 50 percent more than what senior captains made at Delta Airlines.

According to Ross, one month's pay for a pilot he provided to Beijing Capital Airlines was $80,000 while U.S. airlines offer a first year salary in the range of $25,000, as per a March 2016 release from the Air Line Pilots Association, International.

"They can't attract people through any other means," another New Zealand-based recruiter, told Bloomberg. "They think money's the only answer.''

Many Korean pilots also prefer working for Chinese airlines and Korea is the biggest source of foreign captains for Chinese companies. In addition to the higher compensation, the geographical and cultural similarities are some of the reasons why Korean pilots find China attractive.

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