Etihad Airways recruits 50 airberlin pilots

Etihad Airways commenced (21-May-2013) recruitment of more than 50 pilots from airberlin in Apr-2013. The transfers comprise Boeing 737-rated first officers to undertake conversion training to 777s, A320 captains and first officers, A330 first officers and 777 non-rated first officers. The programme is designed to support airberlin's turnaround plan and Etihad Airways' plans to recruit 1000 additional pilots by 2020. Etihad Airways president and CEO James Hogan said, "This development is part of the broader process to strengthen our alliance with equity group partners. With airberlin we are already sharing resources, integrating our fleet programs, aligning our well-experienced personnel, and developing careers." Etihad Airways plans to expand its Abu Dhabi flight training centre in Nov-2013, including flight simulators for A320, A330, A340, A350, A380, 777 and 787 aircraft. [more - original PR]