Emirates Recruiting Pilots at Full Throttle

Emirates Recruiting Pilots at Full Throttle

Emirates plans to hire more than 700 pilots over the next 18 months to support new routes, new aircraft and increased frequencies.

Tomorrow, the airline's recruitment team will be seeking First Officers in Madrid, one of six new destinations to be announced by the airline this year.

After Madrid - served by Emirates from August 1 - recruitment specialists move to Barcelona and then across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Capt. Alan Stealey, Emirates' Divisional Senior Vice President, Flight Operations, said: "We have embarked on a major drive to recruit cockpit crew to support the airline's growth at a time when much of the industry is cutting back. With our ninth Airbus A380 just arrived and a 10th being handed over next week, that's two giant aircraft to staff in the space of a fortnight alone. By the end of this year, we will have recruited more than 250 pilots. Next year, we're looking to double that figure and recruit 500.”

The Emirates timetable includes four flights daily from New Zealand to Dubai and beyond via Australia, including an A380 service to and from Auckland.

The international airline of the UAE now has a 147-strong fleet with a further six aircraft due to arrive this calendar year. A total of 144 planes worth around US$ 48 billion are on order.

New routes this year include Tokyo, which launched March 28 and Amsterdam, which started May 1. Services to Prague and Baghdad roll out on July 1, Madrid begins August 1 and flights to Dakar operate from September 1. A twice weekly summer service has also been announced for Al Medinah al Munawarrah in Saudi Arabia - running from July 2 to September. 24

Compared to June 2009, the airline's weekly flight departures from Dubai have jumped from 1004 to 1118 - supporting new routes and a raft of extra frequencies in Europe, the Middle East, the Indian Sub-continent, Asia and Australasia.

Rick Helliwell, Emirates' Vice President, Recruitment, who is from New Zealand, said: “A career as an Emirates' pilot offers an opportunity to fly aircraft in one of the world's most modern fleets throughout an ever broadening route network. Due to the massive expansion plans for the airline, pilots at Emirates have the opportunity to progress from First Officer to the Captain's seat quickly, based on industry norms.”

The airline currently employs more than 2,300 flight deck crew spanning 85 nationalities, among them a number of New Zealanders.

Santiago Andres, a First officer from Spain, said: “Working as a First Officer with Emirates has been extremely rewarding. The airline has an extensive route network which has enabled me to fly all over the world. I'm so pleased that my home country of Spain will become an Emirates' passenger route from 1st August. I also really like living in Dubai - the lifestyle is something very special.”

For the 2009/10 financial year, the Emirates Group announced total net profits US$ 1.1 billion, a record increase of 248 percent. The airline's contribution to that profit was US$ 964 million.

Last week, Emirates announced that it was looking to recruit around 3,000 cabin crew during the current financial year.

Full details of these and other pilot recruitment sessions across the world can be found via www.emiratesgroupcareers.com

ENDS

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