MacroAsia opening aviation school

MANILA, Philippines — MacroAsia Corp. will establish an aviation school, the First Aviation Academy Inc. (FAA) at the Subic International Airport, in partnership with PTC Holdings Corp.

PTC Holdings is is part of PTC Group, one of the leading crew management and diversified maritime services companies in the Philippines.

 The joint venture company, which will own simulators, aircraft, and a training facility, will start operations by the first half of 2018.

 The initiative aims to a dress the projected shortage of aviation professionals in the country and outside.

“The aviation school will pursue an initial pilot training, certification and career development courses in the field of aviation. It aims to help address the foreseen shortage of aviation professionals for airline clients not only in the Philippines but also in other countries,” MacroAsia said.

Aircraft manufacturers forecast a shortage of more than 600,000 pilots by year 2013.

“Largely, this is based from the growth in regional carriers, increasing preference for air travel in Asia and the current low rate of pilots entering the profession. In fact, the center of gravity of air travel is shifting towards Asia, and ASEAN has and will contribute significantly to this shift based on the recent report of IATA from 2017 to 2035,” MacroAsia said.

 MacroAsia is a listed company that is known as a globally competitive provider of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), ground handling, airline catering and foods services management among others.

 For the aviation school, proponents said the initial development cost is estimated at $3 million for the first three aircraft: two single-engine light aircraft, and one twin-engine light aircraft.

It will also have two simulators which have dual and control-loading yoke system and dual rudder pedals for simultaneous pilot and co-pilot control.

FAA’s curriculum will include more than 200 flying hours using the single and twin engine aircraft which is more than what is currently being offered in the industry.

In line with its commitment to create a link for employment for aviation professionals and airline companies, FAA is working on partnerships with different airlines.

The school is targeting to produce more than 300 pilots and achieve conservatively about $17 million cumulative revenue for the first five years of its operations.

The PTC Group has now grown to provide integrated value chain of diversified services, spanning ship and crew management, maritime education and training, chartering, ship agency, logistics and freight forwarding, medical diagnostics, travel services, fuel distribution and renewable energy development, offshore business processing, property development, international professional placement, professional and airline support services, among others.