Vietnam Airlines will send trainees for basic pilot training to the country’s first flight training institute in Vung Tau as part of its initiative to begin training at home.
The state-owned carrier signed an agreement with the institute, the Viet Flight Training Joint Stock Co, last Thursday.
Three groups of 20 trainees each will undergo a 72-week course, partially in France with assistance from the ESMA Aviation Academy, a renowned French training center.
By the end of 2012 it hopes to carry out the entire training in Vietnam.
Nguyen Sy Hung, the carrier’s chairman, said at the signing ceremony: “This is to help Vietnam Airlines actively control its pilot training plans, lower costs, and thus deliver a much stronger performance.”
By the end of this year the airlines will employ 636 pilots, 60 percent of them Vietnamese, he said, adding the figure will go up to 75 percent by 2015.
The carrier also plans to train 100 pilots every year during the decade through 2020 to achieve its target of expanding its crew size by 10 percent.
Viet Flight is the first Vietnamese flight training institute allowed to award the Airline Transport Pilot License.
It was established in June 2008 by Vietnam Airlines Corporation, Service Flight Corp of Vietnam, Vietnam Aircraft Leasing Co, and ESMA.
Between 2010 and 2011, it will run 4 more pilot training courses for carriers in Vietnam and in the region.
