Employment | GAA

The global pilot crisis. At last, people are waking up

July 16, 2018

Boeing, one of the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers, estimates an additional 640,000 pilots will be needed worldwide over the next 20 years, 40 per cent of them in the Asia Pacific region. Air New Zealand has announced that it’s working on the issue behind the scenes with the Airline Pilots Association, and there is agreement that trainee pilots need better support and more funding. …

No apologies for acting in the public interest, says the CAA

April 5, 2018

The CAA has now had the opportunity to consider the material presented by the Des Lines and Brian Mackie including their “Overview” document and the results of their “Client Satisfaction” survey. The CAA welcomes feedback on its performance. As a responsible state sector entity, the CAA must – and does – operate in an environment of accountability to the public, whose interests it ultimately …

Shocking, insane and incompetent: Customers condemn the ‘toxic’ CAA

The full results of the GAA’s independent survey of CAA client satisfaction have been published. The report reveals significant disapproval and disquiet. On virtually all questions seeking a rating of 0 (no satisfaction) to 10 (very high), the Authority scored below 5 and in some cases, such as cost control, less than 2. The CAA is described by some GA customers as “shocking”, “insane”, …

We’re calling for a public inquiry into the CAA

The GAA is seeking a public inquiry into the Civil Aviation Authority. On 5 April, the GAA released a report detailing known and alleged CAA failures and shortcomings and another showing the results of the independent CAA client satisfaction survey. The dossier of failures and shortcomings has taken about six years to compile. It contains evidence of failures by the Authority and its governing …

A worrying picture of systemic inconsistency at the CAA

January 13, 2018

Inconsistent actions and conflicting demands by Civil Aviation Authority officials are causing confusion and stress, wasting time and costing the CAA and its customers thousands of dollars, says a report. In a 5000-word document sent to CAA Director Graeme Harris, exposition-writing consultants Walter Wagtendonk and Ian Wood highlight – and reject – the behaviour of some CAA personnel who assess Air Operator Certification applications …

Pilot shortage: Australia to relax visa laws to attract foreign pilots

January 1, 2018

AAP, 28 December 2017 Foreign pilots will once again be allowed into Australia on working visas to help address a shortage that threatens to ground aircraft and cancel flights. The occupations eligible for foreign worker visas were slashed during a government shake-up in April but from next month, pilots will once again be granted access after concerns about the national shortage. The Regional Aviation …

Client Satisfaction Surveys in a post-factual world…

March 26, 2017

The CAA is either living in a fools’ paradise and thinks all its customers are happy, or it is deeply afraid to ask them. We can’t think of any other reason why the CAA refuses to hire a neutral organisation and tell it go to the customers and ask some honest questions. We also have convincing proof that no company or organisation can rely …

CAA Notices – The tentacles of regulation just keep growing longer

In mid-February, the CAA announced its intention to publish CAA Notices as a means of ensuring that “the regulatory framework remains responsive and adaptable to change.” On the surface, these objectives almost appear noble. But when we peel back the layers, what emerges is a worrying erosion of the checks and balances that have underpinned aviation rule-making since the early 1990s. A CAA Notice …

Ag pilot competency checks: CAA leaves a mess in its wake

August 21, 2016

The CAA is clearly in difficulties over its plans to reform the testing regime for agricultural pilots, particularly since the GAA pointed out that much of the proposed reform was not practical – particularly for the single-seat, single-control fixed-wing aircraft. Yes, it may be “legal” using the subtle differences in interpretation between a “passenger”, a“crew member” and a “required crew member”. However, legality does …

The future for our CVD pilots: GD Review Panel’s findings, in black and white

August 16, 2016

The full report of the Colour Vision Deficiency General Direction Review Panel runs to 87 pages. In the interests of brevity, we have condensed it to three A4 pages. Fifty-nine written submissions were received in response to the consultation process. Of these, 15 were from aviation groups and the remaining 44 from individuals. The Principal Medical Officer, Dr Dougal Watson, also provided the panel …

Category: Employment