David Learmount/LONDON
British Aerospace Flight Training (BAeFT) will be the first professional pilot training school to take advantage of the Joint Aviation Regulations for flight crew licensing (JAR FCL) when it moves its operations from Prestwick, Scotland, to Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, in September.
BAeFT's move to Spain is expected to be the precursor to major changes in the structure of Europe's flight training sector, including consolidation and strategic alliances (Flight International, 10-16 February, P48).
Organisations training pilots to JAR FCL, which come into force in July, are required to have their main place of business in one of the European Joint Aviation Authority countries. This rule is expected to change, however, under pressure from the USA, where schools want the right to train to the JAR FCL syllabus.
Jerez' advantages, according to BAeFT, include "a lower cost environment with good weather and an unrestricted operating area". Spain's reliable weather will allow BAeFT to train pilots ab initio to a JAR FCL commercial pilot's licence with "frozen" air transport pilot licence eligibility in 52 weeks compared with 60 weeks to complete the same course at Prestwick. It will cost around £46,700 ($75,000), including accommodation, says BAeFT.
The first full course will begin in December, when the last Prestwick course will finish. Training systems and aircraft will be moved to Jerez "throughout the year", says commercial manager David Shiner.
Source: Flight International
