A plane that does laps around the runway and students delighted to have the flight simulators tested. On the Paris-Villaroche site near Melun (Seine-et-Marne), the Airways College crash was finally avoided. After the placement in judicial liquidation on April 29, 2021 of the airline pilot school, a buyer was found by the commercial court of Agen (Lot-et-Garonne).
PFT Aero was chosen to buy three of the four sites in Paris-Villaroche, Nîmes (Gard) and Agen. Created in 2020 by four former captains at Aigle Azur, this new school held its open day this Saturday in Villaroche. Flight simulator sessions, laps of the runways, exchanges with the instructors… the objective: to forget the Airways College fiasco and get back on the right track.
“The school opened last November and for the time being we only have students who were at Airways College, the idea of recruiting the next class,” explains Arnaud Chaibi, president at PFT Aero. In the meantime, the establishment has acquired four new flight simulators.
An agreement reached with former students
Of the 250 students from the previous school, 177 restarted their training with PFT Aero. While they had already paid 99,000 euros in tuition fees, a contribution of 10,000 additional euros for the continuation of their studies was required by the commercial court of Agen.
As for the 70 employees of Airways College, “42 were hired mainly instructors and people in charge of aircraft maintenance,” continues Arnaud Chaibi.
During the year and a half of training, students begin with nine months of theoretical lessons before putting them into practice on a simulator or in flight. At the end of their course, graduates can become pilots for airliners, jets, parachute drops or even aerial photography.
“No need to have an excellent level in math”
Here, the eighteen months of training cost 82,000 euros. A hell of a sum for families but which can be repaid without fear once on the job market, assures Arnaud Chaibi. According to him, the aviation sector is not experiencing the crisis: “even if activity slowed down during the Covid epidemic, within the next 20 years on a global scale, 600,000 pilots will be needed in more and manufacturers will have delivered 40,000 devices. »
To apply, you just need to be 17 years old and neither the baccalaureate nor any flight experience are required. Candidates will have to pass a MCQ in second-level math as well as an English test and a motivational interview. But the president of PFT Aero is keen to reassure young people who are interested: “today you no longer need to have an excellent level in maths, what counts is rather English”.
No need to have perfect eyesight either, “even people who wear glasses can be pilots”.
Niels confirms, “I’m bad at maths and that doesn’t prevent me from understanding”. The 18-year-old had already completed six months of training when the school closed. “When it closed, it hit us hard,” he recalls.
But for the 18-year-old who had begun to touch his dream of being a pilot, “it was out of the question for it to end this way”. By the time a buyer was found, he worked for six months in a restaurant “time to put a few pennies aside”.
“I did not hesitate to register”
And when PFT Aero opened its school, “I didn’t hesitate to enroll”. Like other Airways College alumni, he paid 10,000 euros to continue his education and took out a student loan.
Today it’s been five months since he started school again. A relief for anyone who has always wanted to drive airplanes. Originally from Cormeilles-en-Vexin (Val-d’Oise), Niels grew up right next to the Cergy Pontoise aerodrome.
“Since I was little, I have watched air shows, that’s what made me want to do this job,” continues the man who now lives in Melun. His first flight at ten years old above Mont-Saint-Michel (Manche) confirms his choice.
With already 40 hours of flight under his belt to date, he wants to become a jet pilot. “I prefer the jets because they are smaller models, you feel more sensations but at the end of my training, I will apply everywhere. »