Australia's Regional Express (Rex) is warning of a "looming catastrophic shortage" of pilots in the country and has called on the Australian Government to provide subsidies for training.

Rex says in a statement that it expects a pilot shortage in Australia "will turn into a crisis in 12 months' time as demand by the larger airlines intensifies to cope with their unprecedented expansion plans."

Dominant domestic operators Qantas Airways and subsidiary Jetstar are expanding rapidly, as is competitor Virgin Blue. Singapore-based low-cost carrier Tiger Airways is also in the process of establishing a domestic operation in Australia.

"Already some airlines are struggling to find enough pilots to crew their regular schedules and many are resorting to cancelling flights to cope with the situation. The Rex cancellation rate, for example, is now running at four times historical levels.

The latest (Department of Transport and Regional Services) statistics, which are for July, show Rex with 0.9% of flights cancelled, Qantas at 1.6%, QantasLink at 1%, Virgin at 1.1% and Jetstar at 0.3%," says Rex chief of staff Jim Davis.

"However the situation is predicted to get much worse. Based on industry feedback, we estimate that the net additional requirement for pilots will be of the order of 1,800 over the next two years. The supply of Airline Transport Pilot Licences every year in Australia is less than 400.

"It is obvious that the major carriers will not allow their brand new jets to sit idle on the tarmac. They will do everything they can to fill up the shortfall by raiding the regional airlines, general aviation, flying schools and specialist organisations like the Royal Flying Doctor Service, something they have already started doing in earnest. Of particular concern will be the loss of experienced flying instructors to the airlines."

Davis says the smaller airlines will be badly hurt as they cannot match the salaries and conditions of the larger carriers, claiming that over the past three months more than 20% of Saab 340 operator Rex's pilots have been poached by Virgin Blue, Jetstar and Qantas.

Rex recently announced it is establishing a cadet pilot training programme. Davis also says he hopes the Australian Government will provide subsidies for cockpit crew training.

"Rex has done all it could and we call on the Government to respond to this looming crisis by urgently implementing similar bold and decisive measures," says Davis.

"The high cost of flying training, estimated at around AU$80,000 (US$71,000) per individual, is the main reason why there are not enough commercial pilots being produced today.

If the Government can subsidise the education of lawyers, accountants, engineers and other professionals, surely it can recognise that the piloting profession is equally worthy of assistance. Today there is not even a fee loan scheme outside of the tertiary institutions that aspiring pilots can tap into to turn their passion to reality."