StarLux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, said Monday that it plans to train a new cadre of cadet pilots, as it is seeking to expand its services and aircraft fleet in the months ahead.
Recruitment has already started and will run until Dec. 11, StarLux said, adding that it is seeking applicants with a college degree or higher and English proficiency certification.
Those who are selected in the first round will be required to take a written test, a flying potential test, and a physical examination, StarLux said in a statement.
Successful applicants will be sent to Australia in the third quarter of next year for 12 months’ training, during which the company will pay their living expenses and insurance fees, according to the statement.
The Taiwanese airline, which launched its commercial services in January 2020, has been expanding rapidly since the start of this year, taking delivery of six new aircraft so far and expecting another seven by the end of the year.
The StarLux fleet is expected to include two wide-body A350s, four A330neos, and 13 A321neos by the end of 2022.
With the addition of the new planes and some new destinations, the carrier said, it will need to expand its workforce from 1,900 to about 2,000 by the end of the year.
In late August, the airline said it planned to launch services to the North American market next April, as part of its expansion efforts.
As for regional flights, StarLux is scheduled to kick off services to Okinawa and Sapporo in Japan and resume flights to Da Nang, Vietnam on Oct. 28.
The ongoing pilot recruitment program is the fourth one implemented by StarLux since 2018. Currently the airline has 14 cadet pilots in training Australia, who are due to return to Taiwan at the end of the year and will be assigned duties by the end of 2023, it said.
According to Starlux Chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) the airline’s recruitment drive is being carried out in preparation for an expected boom in air travel, as the Taiwan government has been hinting at further easing its COVID-19-related border controls.
Last week, StarLux said it had raised its wages by about 5 percent on average in September to reward its hardworking employees, after a pay freeze of almost three years due to difficulties amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel