As the world grapples with a shortage of pilots, Qantas Airways Ltd. is taking matters into its own hands.
The Australian airline is setting up a school to train as many as 500 pilots a year, it said Thursday as it reported record first-half profits. The carrier will initially produce about 100 pilots a year just for Qantas, and other airlines could ultimately pay for training at the facility, Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce told reporters.
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The Qantas facility due to open in 2019 will meet just a fraction of the industry’s needs. The Asia-Pacific region alone will require more than a quarter of a million new pilots by 2036, about 40 percent of the global total needed, according to Boeing Co.
Qantas will initially invest as much as A$20 million ($16 million) in the school, to be based in regional Australia, Joyce said.
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