Association Québécoise du Transport Aérien (AQTA) - or Quebec Air Transport Association - is a non-profit organization founded in 1976. It provides services to its members by representing the aviation industry and supporting and promoting air transport in Quebec.
You were appointed CEO in May 2024 - congratulations! What motivated you to come out of retirement and join the AQTA?
My whole career has been in economic and industrial development, working with government, industry and energy companies, focusing on the key economic sectors such as aerospace. I retired in 2023, but after a few months, I was approached by a couple of companies and start-ups in aerospace, advanced air mobility and new energy. I enjoyed that role very much and more recently I accepted a new role as CEO of AQTA helping the aviation sector to grow.
Being in aerospace manufacturing is different from aviation, and there are significant issues in aviation that are not prevalent in manufacturing. I'm learning a lot in this new role, and it's the passion for the industry that keeps me going. Our members vary widely and are across airports, aircraft and helicopter companies, maintenance repair and overhaul products, flight schools, services companies, as well as air carriers. In Quebec, serving remote communities as small as 300 people is challenging due to the large area and northern locations.
How large is the shortage of trained pilots in Canada in 2024, and who are you competing with for talent?
The global pilot shortage is a challenge to the world’s airlines. The shortfall of pilots in North America is expected to remain at significant levels over at least the next 10 years. CAE global forecast of 63 000 new pilots for North America only. This shortage is forcing some airlines to ground aircraft, which can be very costly.
For example, a major airline was recently forced to ground 20 aircraft due to a shortage of cockpit crew. We are working hard with the government to find ways to reduce the financial barriers to pilot training. More scholarships, loans and airline cadet schools are ways to reduce the financial barriers. We also need to increase the diversity of the recruitment pool – and bring in more women airline pilots – only 4% to 6% of the world’s airline pilots are female.
In the next decades, technological advances may lead to single-pilot cockpits or, eventually, to pilot fewer cockpits, reducing the demand for cockpit crews. However, the social acceptability of customers may delay such future developments. But we also need experienced pilots who adhere to Transport Canada’s regulations, not just new graduates. I plan to make the province of Quebec an accelerator for pilot training, collaborating with companies like CAE to train pilots efficiently using new technologies, artificial intelligence and simulation. Quebec has the potential to become a North American and global training hub due to our competitive dollar and bilingual training capabilities.
Since July 2023, Quebec flight colleges have had to juggle a new requirement for students to prove a sufficient level of French-speaking proficiency. Given the global shortage, what are your thoughts on this additional barrier?
This new rule complicates attracting pilot students to Quebec and we should consider options that would ease these requirements by increasing the number of years required to write the French language exams. Quebec promotes itself as an investment destination, and attracting international talents is crucial given the aviation manpower shortage we have in Quebec. We need to make our province more attractive and promote careers in aviation, especially for young women. Two years ago, when I was heading Aéro Montreal, we launched a big promotion campaign to attract more students to aerospace technical schools and it was a huge success with trade and technical schools increasing their registration numbers by 40%.
Collaboration between the government and large OEMs like Airbus, Bombardier, Pratt and Whitney Canada and many more is essential to make the profession more attractive and accessible. We should also consider financial assistance for students, such as bursaries or loans and flexible repayment schedules. Increasing the number of pilots is a priority for the next year, and making the profession more appealing and attainable is key.
Sustainability is a number one concern for the aviation industry. Can you point to some AQTA member initiatives that are leading the way when it comes to implementing greener practices?
Many AQTA members, including airlines like Air Canada, Air Transat, Air Inuit, are investing in more efficient, more environmentally friendly aircraft. Airports are also looking at reducing their footprint by electrifying ground equipment.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is another area of focus. Quebec has a few major R and D projects in this area. We are currently working on an e-SAF pilot plant, a synthetic fuel derived from renewable energy, hydroelectricity in our case. It is fully compatible with jet engines. Innovations like hybrid electric engines are also in development in Quebec and very promising. But the short-term solutions to reduce the environmental impact remains with the e-SAF solution if we want to achieve the new zero emissions by 2050.
Outside of the ongoing workforce challenges, do you have any other front-of-mind concerns facing the aviation industry in 2024?
At the moment, the AQTA is speaking with federal regulators at Transport Canada to discuss how they plan to manage the new world of airspace and infrastructure given the rise of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) - drones and flying taxis. This is a relatively new issue and we will need to find solutions for it quickly because the technology already exists. The experts at Transport Canada and ICAO are very concerned about this. NASA and the FAA in the U.S., face high demand and requests regarding advanced air mobility. These are the big issues that will require innovative solutions and increased collaboration.
