OREANDA-NEWS. March 10, 2009. Due to the fleet replenishment, Aeroflot increases its flying personnel with flight school graduates and pilots laid off as a result of their companies’ dissolution or shift to more modern aircrafts.  At the same time, Aeroflot is busy building its own flight school and developing its training aircraft division, reported the press-centre of Aeroflot.

In 2008, Aeroflot’s flight division employed as pilots 214 flight school graduates, former military pilots and pilots who had previously worked for other carriers (KrasAir, Dalavia, KaliningradAvia, Bashkirian Airlines, Omskavia, Samara Airlines, Caucasian Mineral Waters, Aeroflot Nord). In 2009, Aeroflot will need more than 300 employees. It is planned to hire over 200 people and fill the other vacancies with retrained air navigators.

In 2008, 292 pilots were retrained for flying the company’s aircrafts: 141 of them for the А320, 22 for the В767, 43 for the А330, 71 for the Tu-154М, 15 for the Ilyushin-96-300). The plan for 2009 implies retraining of 393 pilots: 240 for А320, 105 for А330, and 48 for В767).

The flight personnel remuneration in Aeroflot satisfies the international standards, is 2.5 times higher than the industry’s average and includes progressive elements based on hours flown and compliance with the existing sanitary standards and terms of the collective contract.

During 2008 the company’s fleet received thirteen new Airbuses: eleven А320s and two А330-200s. The plan for 2009 provides for receiving and putting into operation of 24 new airliners: four А319s (one of them have already arrived), eight А320s (three of them have arrived), six А321s and six А330s.