Two pilots from Australia and Ireland began their maiden fly on
Wednesday after their work at Hainan Airlines in South China Hainan
Province started. This is the first time for a Chinese airline
hiring foreign pilots.
The two pilots, who will be flying routes from Hainan's Sanya to
Seoul of South Korea and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, have been
trained at the Hainan Airlines for one month.
Company officials noted that introducing pilots from overseas is
aimed at facing the incoming competition between Chinese airlines
and their foreign counterparts after China's accession into the
World Trade Organization. More foreign pilots and airline experts
would be introduced, they said.
Hainan Airlines once hired some foreign airhostesses last year.
(
December 28, 2001)