QantasLink on hunt for its next pilots

Qantas’s regional airline QantasLink is on a hiring spree.

QantasLink pilot Arika Malony is looking to transfer to Qantas main-line operations. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Qantas’s regional airline QantasLink is on a hiring spree as some of its pilots shift to the carrier’s main-line operation in preparation for the introduction of the Boeing Dreamliner to its fleet next year.

The regional airline is on the hunt for entry-level, first officer, and captain positions as some of its existing roster of pilots begin transitioning over to Qantas to fill out its ranks.

QantasLink, which employs 420 pilots, has long been considered an academy for Qantas, where the regional carrier’s best and brightest pilots often move on to the bigger aircraft in its main-line fleet.

A Qantas spokeswoman said there was no target for the number of pilots to be hired through this recruitment round, but that the airline would take a flexible approach depending on the range of candidates it received applications from.

“As a guide, we’re looking to offer 16 to 20 positions on each planned ground school across a range of levels: trainees, first officers and captains,” she said.

“It’s significant compared to previous recruitment programs. The last time we recruited for QantasLink pilots was in 2013 and it was limited to between four and eight pilots on each ground school.”

One such QantasLink pilot who could soon be shifting over to Qantas main line is Arika Malony, who is currently going through ­assessment with the airline.

Ms Malony has been with QantasLink for six years and said it was the perfect training ground for her career as a pilot.

“The training that they give you, not just online but in the simulator, the program they have in place and the instructors they have got certainly enables you to broaden your mindset and allows you to adapt to different situations,” she said.

“It’s also been a really wonderful work life balance over the past six years for me. We do our share of overnights but we certainly don’t go flying through the night, which is nice for the body clock.”

Ms Malony joined QantasLink when she was 25. Her first job with the airline was as a first officer on one of QantasLink’s Q400 Bombardier Dash 8 turboprop aircraft.

The recruitment drive from QantasLink comes as both Qantas’s main-line operation and its budget carrier Jetstar are also on hiring sprees. More than 500 hopefuls from Australia and overseas applied for the 170 pilot positions Qantas aims to fill over the next three years as it begins taking delivery of its Boeing 787s from October.

The recruitment drive, announced earlier this year, is the first time since 2009 Qantas has opened up new flying opportunities to external candidates.

Qantas is going through the final stages of its selection process before on-board training starts next month. The first of the new recruits are expected to be ready for duty by May.

It is expected that most of the new recruits will be brought on as second officers for Qantas’s A330 fleet.

Jetstar plans to boost its pilot ranks by 50 over the next two years. Jetstar’s recruitment drive for Australia-based pilots will boost its overall pilot ranks from 800 to about 850 by 2018.