The CEO of Air Vanuatu has determined that an airline policy which blocked local Ni-Vanuatu pilots from captaining the airlines’ big aircrafts must be removed.
The move was made in response to the Prime Minister Bob Loughman’s concerning at lack of local Ni-Vanuatu Boeing 737 captains after meeting the airlines’ CEO ‘Atu Finau.
The reform was met with some resistance from what Finau had described as people in the industry who were supporters of the more than three decades controversial policy.
It followed with Finau sacking some senior officers at the airlines and repeated calls for him to attend Parliament as well as Cabinet Ministers’ visiting his office.
Finau told Kaniva News in an exclusive interview that the change was now at the hands of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. He said the Authority told him there was nothing in the government’s airline regulation that blocked the processing of the changes.
The policy
A pilot with a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) qualification was able to Captain a Twin Otter.
However, the airlines at some stages decided to upgrade the level of qualification needed to become a captain of a Twin Otter.
The change required pilots to obtain a higher qualification called an Air Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) before they can become a captain and to fly the Boeing 737 at Air Vanuatu.
Finau said that since studying an ATPL license in New Zealand and Australia was expensive it meant the local Ni-Vanuatu pilots were disadvantaged by the policy.
“The level of their salaries could not afford pay for them to study the ATPL” he said.
He said the fees for the ATPL license was around AU$80,000 to $100,000.
“The best salaries in any airlines are the pilots and the bigger the aircraft they fly the higher their salaries.
“If they were allowed to captain the Boeing 737 with their CPL license it would give them salaries high enough to fund studying their ATPL license”.
Finau said the controversial policy has been there for about 35 years now.
He said the policy meant, only pilots from Australia, who can afford to study the ATPL license, can captain the airlines’ Boeing 737.
PM first meeting
Finau said in his first meeting with the Prime Minister, Loughman asked him why couldn’t any local Vanuatu pilots allow to fly the airlines’ Boeing 737.
He said after the meeting he studied the airlines’ policy and found out the reason was because of the ATPL license guideline.
Finau said, as far as he knew, the two biggest airliners in the region Fiji and PNG did not have such controversial policy.
He said the policy had been created by people who were not Ni-Vanuatu and it was based on the assumption the locals could not do such highly professional jobs safely and skilfully.
“I have heard about this many times before in Tonga and in the region”.
Finau said he did a thorough research on the matter before he made the condlusion that the airline’s policy must be changed.
“I spent time researching it and also I had time talking to other airlines in the regions including Fiji and PNG”.
“Those two airliners had nothing to block the pilots from promoting with the CPL license up to the Boeing 737s”.
The airlines has four levels of aircraft including the smallest plane which was the Islander, twin otter which required two pilots to fly. The next level was ATR which has 72 seats than the Boeing 737, the largest aircraft.
The policy meant, all pilots in Vanuatu who did not hold a ATPL license cannot be promoted to the ATR aircraft.
Finau described the condition as unnecessary.
“It’s like a cleaner who was awarded with a qualification from a University. Their educational background was too high for the job”.
Tongan close-knit value
Fīnau said his change to the policy affected the domestic flights because more pilots were needed but they have to wait until the policy was changed.
There was a push for him to hire more pilots from Australia to fulfil the shortage of the number of the domestic pilots.
He said the change also had caused a public outrage after he sacked his pilot operation general manager.
His replacement came in but they clashed after Finau rejected a suggestion from him regarding a new audit flight.
Finau said the tension within the airline was leaked to social media and some people tend to take it for granted.
He said a letter of complaint against him was sent to the Prime Minister, the parliament and Civil Authorities in Australia.
He said he was called to parliament twice and he met with some Cabinet Ministers and a parliamentary committee but he was confident the Vanuatu authorities now understand his position and what he was fighting for.
“I told those who did not believe in the change see I am Tongan and I am doing something for your benefit yet you did not appreciate it”. Finau said.
“This is for you not me. If you do not want it pay me all the money I suppose to have according to my contract with the airline and I will leave”.
Finau said he was thinking about the Tongan close-knit value.
“When we are competing regionally, or internationally we always support our Tongans and any opportunity which could open a door for out Tongans we will fight for them.
“We have seen system being created in our regions by people who colonialised the Pacific islands only for their advantage”.
