Air China has now started its pilot recruitment program for 2009. As required by Air China’s overall strategic resource integration and the increasing trend of fleet expansion, Air China’s pilot recruitment process will no longer be hindered by geographical restrictions as the company is gradually increasing its number of target areas. Currently, in addition to 40 pilots, which will be recruited from Beijing, recruitment will also be carried out in Sichuan, Zhejiang, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Shanxi, Shandong, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Chongqing, Shanghai and Tianjin, among others.

Air China attaches high importance to the quality of pilot candidates and focused more on English capability and psychological soundness when adopting the 2009 recruitment criterion, compared with that of 2008. In order to gain admission, applicants must pass the rigorous interview process, including a physical examination, background check and re-examination of physical health, and high school students must take the 2009 National College Entrance Exam and reach the minimum admission score of the year released by Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). Matriculated students will be sent to the China Civil Aviation Flying College in Guanghan, Sichuan Province, or the Civil Aviation University in Tianjin for a four-year undergraduate degree and one year of flight theory learning. The students only bear tuition and lodging fees at the college, while the flying training expense will be borne by the airline.