Ryanair has launched a major training partnership with Astonfly to deliver a mentored pilot training program in Paris to recruit and train up to 500 new cadet pilots over four years.
On Friday (April 8, 2022), Ryanair announced the launch of a new major training partnership with Astonfly, a Claire Group company, in Paris. Over the next four years, the mentored program will recruit and train up to 500 new cadet pilots, ensuring Ryanair continues to attract highly trained pilots to support growth across Europe. The program will include a structured path which prepared cadets to join the Ryanair Boeing 737 Type rating program. Pilots will be trained by Astonfly’s instructors, using Ryanair procedures and operational philosophy.
In Friday’s announcement, Ryanair’s Director of Operations, Neal McMahon, said,
“Ryanair is pleased to announce this training partnership with Astonfly, which has an impressive track record in training top-class pilots to the highest standards. This new training programme with Astonfly is Ryanair’s only mentored pilot programme in France and will deliver up to 500 new cadet pilots. Ryanair offers unparalleled career opportunities for cadets with industry leading rosters and excellent earning potential. This partnership highlights our commitment to supporting, developing and recruiting pilots in the region for current and future positions. With hundreds of daily Ryanair flights in and out of France, we expect students from across Europe to avail of Ryanair’s low fares and enroll in Astonfly’s Ryanair Mentored pilot training programme.”
Also commenting on the new training collaboration with Astonfly, Ryanair’s Head of Crew Training, Captain Senan O’Shea, said,
“This new Ryanair – Astonfly programme will provide the airline with a steady pipeline of talented and professional pilots from around Europe to meet the needs of our growing network. Ryanair will hire up to 1,000 pilots per annum over the next 4 years and our pilots can look forward to unmatched opportunities flying with the world’s number one international airline. We have carefully chosen Astonfly as our cadet training partner in France due to their high standards in initial flying training. We are very pleased to lend our operational expertise to Astonfly.”
Claire Group’s President, Charles Claire, added,
“This ambitious pilot recruitment programme announced in partnership with Ryanair is a strong sign of post pandemic recovery in international air transport. Astonfly is particularly proud to have been chosen as exclusive training partner in France by Europe’s number one pilot employer. It represents a unique opportunity for our past, present and future students, to become commercial pilots for Europe’s largest airline upon completion of their flight training. We look forward to working with Ryanair.”
Ryanair Holdings, plc is Europe’s largest airline conglomerate and the parent company of Buzz, Lauda, Malta Air, and Ryanair DAC. The airline carries over 154 million passengers annually with more than 2,500 daily departures. Ryanair serves over 200 destinations in 40 countries with a fleet of over 400 Boeing 737 Family aircraft and 20 Airbus A320s. Currently, the low-cost carrier has an additional 210 Boeing 737-8200s on order. Ryanair has maintained a stellar safety record for over 35 years and prides itself on being “Europe’s greenest cleanest airline group,” promising customers a reduction in CO2 emissions of up to 50%, versus the “Big 4 EU major airlines.”
Source: Ryanair