Malaysia Airlines trains Jetstar pilots

The agreement was signed by Dato' Captain Nawawi Awang of Malaysia Airlines and Captain Mark Wheeler, Jetstar's General Manager Flight Operations at the national carrier's Flight Crew Training centre in Subang.

The Agreement is supporting Jetstar's final preparations as it moves into long haul international operations between Australia, South East Asia and the Asia Pacific, which are planned to commence from 23 November 2006.

Jetstar Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said the airline was pleased to use the Malaysia Airlines flight training centre to help support its move into long haul flying, initially with a fleet of 6 A330-200s by mid 2007.

"All initial line operations experience for Jetstar's lead pilots on the A330 will be conducted by Malaysia Airlines and this arrangement has real potential to form an ongoing and long lasting relationship for line operations and simulator training for our A330 operations", Mr Joyce said.

"Our training standards are internationally recognized and we have an excellent track record of A330-300 operations since 1991. We are thus pleased to share our A330-300 expertise with Jetstar in line with the 'Winning Coalitions' thrust of our Business Turnaround Plan and are glad that our deal matched the expectations of Jetstar's urgent training requirements," said Mr Peter Read, Malaysia Airlines' Director of Operations.

The Jetstar pilots, all holding the rank of Airbus A330-200 flight captain, are currently undergoing both line and simulator Airbus A330-300 training at Malaysia Airlines' Flight Crew Training Centre in Subang and are expected to complete their training by early December 2006.

Malaysia Airlines Flight Crew Training Centre in Subang, fully equipped with the latest equipment and facilities, is the only integrated facility in Malaysia to offer flight crew training for turbo-prop aircraft as well as narrow body and wide body aircraft. It has a fully operational Fokker-50, 2 B737-400, 1 Airbus A330, 1 Boeing 777-200 and 1 Boeing 747-400 simulators catering to the training needs of both Malaysia Airlines crew as well as both other local and foreign airlines.

Jetstar is a Qantas Group Airline and fully owned subsidiary with headquarters based in Melbourne, Australia. It currently operates a fleet of 23 Airbus A320s and is now in the process of upgrading its Air Operator Certificate to operate wide bodied jet aircraft on international long haul routes.

Malaysia Airlines is a CAPA Member. For more information on the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation's membership service, please click the icon below.