By Lee Hyo-sik
The Air Force is lobbying lawmakers to legislate a law requiring Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and other smaller carriers to share the training costs of military pilots.
Its move comes as a growing number of pilots are retiring early from service to work in the private sector, lured by higher wages and more generous benefits.
Under its envisioned plan, the Air Force will ask air carriers to pay 100 million won ($90,000) for each military pilot they hire.
The Air Force says it costs over 10 billion won in taxpayers’ money to turn its cadets into well-trained aviators. It argues the airlines should share the bill because they benefit from hiring the experienced military pilots.
Air carriers disagree by saying it makes no sense to “penalize” private companies for legitimately hiring retiring pilots. They say if the Air Force wants to retain its pilots, they should increase their salaries and offer more benefits.
According to the data submitted to the National Assembly’s national defense subcommittee, Thursday, more than 100 military pilots retire from active duty and move to commercial airlines every year.
The data also showed it costs between 10 to 15 billion won to train one pilot, depending on the type of fighter jet.
``The Korea Institute for Defense Analysis suggested last year that commercial airlines pay 100 million won for each military pilot they hire in a bid to prevent the outflow of taxpayers’ money-trained aviators,’’ said an Air Force spokesman, who declined to be named.
“We think the measure is reasonable, given the fact that air carriers greatly benefit from employing well-trained Air Force pilots without having to nurture aviators on their own.”
But he admitted that the step is not an effective solution to discourage pilots from leaving active duty.
``We know the measure won’t likely stop military pilots from moving to private carriers. We will hold a series of meetings with airline industry officials to find a win-win solution for both sides,’’ the spokesman said.
Airline industry officials protest the Air Force’s move, claiming it won’t be able to stop military pilots from switching jobs.
``The measure is like universities asking companies to pay them money as they produce highly-educated manpower. Many Air Force pilots want to work for commercial airlines for high wages and generous benefits. If the military wants to hang on to its pilots, it should improve working conditions,’’ said an official at a domestic airline firm, who declined to be named.
Another airline spokesman said the company has not yet been notified of such move by the Air Force, adding it has nothing to say about the issue until it materializes.
Over the past five years, an annual average of 115 Air Force pilots who finished a mandatory service term of 13 years move to commercial airlines. Additionally, 50 more pilots who retire from active duty fly commercial aircrafts afterwards.
A total of 99 Air Force pilots among those who complete a 13-year mandatory service in 2012 have applied for early retirement to work for commercial airlines. Of the 99, 78 will go to Korean Air, while Asiana Airlines will hire 19, with Jeju Air and Eastar Jet hiring one each.
Airlines here have been engaged in a fierce “recruitment war” for pilots.
Korean Air currently has 2,550 pilots on its payroll, operating a fleet of 142 airplanes. It plans to hire 150 more this year and next as 18 new airplanes will be introduced, including Airbus 380 aircraft.
Asiana Airline, which has 1,176 pilots for a fleet of 74 aircraft, is also searching for well-trained pilots all year round.
Despite soaring demand for experienced pilots, the country’s three pilot training institutes ― the Korea Aerospace University, Hanseo University and the Uljin Aviation Training Center ― produce only about 160 entry-level pilots every year.