The use of drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) is soaring for commercial and military purposes, a trend which is believed to be increasing the risk of terrorist attacks or incidents involving aircraft. So are we allowing our insatiable need for technology to become one of our biggest threats, or are we capable enough of regulating and controlling the power of UAVs to exploit only their positive usage for human development and commercial purposes? Let’s analyse the facts. Commercial drone sales are said to rise this year by more than 80% from last year’s (2015) figure of $261 million to an estimated of $481 million by the end of 2016. One of the main triggers of this rapid growth is the

The dynamic growth of economies in South-east Asia, currently brings golden opportunities to boost tourism and trade for all aviation players. Research shows that ASEAN’s capacity shrunk significantly from 30% (2013) to 13% 2014. However, Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) made up approximately 60% of the total market and rising quicker than their full service carrier counterparts. With rapid growth of South-east Asia’s LCCs, leisure travel is in major demand for many passengers, so these airlines as the most active players in the region have a gained competitive advantage in comparison with premium travel. South-east Asia’s low cost carrier fleet has passed the 600 aircraft mark as the region’s 23 LC

The success of the Brookfield Education and Training / Croatia Airlines EASA Engineer B1 course has attracted a growing number of international students for the second year intake scheduled for October 2016 and now the course is actively being marketed in China where an increasing number of affluent families are seeking rewarding educational opportunities in Europe for their children. The new initiative is being promoted by the Brookfield team in China. Siya Sun, Brookfield’s V.P. Asia Pacific said: “This is a unique opportunity for young Chinese people to get their Bachelor of Engineering degree, the B1 licence and three and a half years’ work experience, all of which are considered essenti

Brookfield Aviation has been raising money for its supported charities for many years. Having already raised in excess of £70,000 (US$ 100,000) through the Brookfield Foundation, we were delighted to be one of the sponsors of “Top Model 2016” a prestigious event held at the London Hilton Metropole on April 1st in aid of the Children with Cancer UK charity. We had some bias in our support for Epsom’s own top model, Susanna Trujillo (pictured above) who made it all the way to the final and has since won herself modelling contracts with some of the country’s leading fashion houses. We wish her success in her career and as always we encourage anybody and everybody to support our charities. Chil

For centuries, enterprising individuals from Europe have travelled throughout the world and taken up positions which have enhanced their wealth and social standing. In the 20th century, as the world became smaller with the advancement of air travel and improved educational and professional standards, more and more people from different nations packed their bags and headed for new pastures to take up expatriate jobs, some on the other side of the globe. This trend has continued unabated since the beginning of the new millennium and the airline business, understandably has witnessed a massive movement of international labour. Foreign pilots and engineers have always been in great demand in man

Oradea International Airport has recently upgraded both the runway and the terminal and are ready for business. As the Western Gate of Romania, Oradea International Airport is very well placed to serve central Europe. Nestled almost equal distances from city capitals including Bucharest, Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Belgrade and Bratislava, Oradea Airport’s new facilities will offer any airline or training organisation a perfect place to serve the surrounding community. Oradea Airport was certified as an airport open to international traffic in August 2012 through The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. The HG 791/2009 inspection has taken place and the airport fulfils all the conditions

Going to work as a pilot in China? What will happen during the selection process and how will it be when you get there. It can be a big culture-shock for many pilots, so we asked Brookfield’s client liaison associate for Central China, Jacob Ren, how he supports new pilots arriving in his country Q. Jacob, what’s the first contact you have with pilots arriving in China? I pick up the candidates from the airport and take them to hotel. When pilots first come to China, some have communication issues because not everybody speaks Chinese, so I make sure everybody is comfortable. I accompany and help the candidate from beginning to end through the whole screening process, as translator, perso

Not long ago, I took part in a Virtual Reality (VR) product demonstration in a shopping centre in London. One of the mobile giants was launching their new set of VR headsets to the public. The idea was to take all of us to a VR trip to Six Flags in California. I have to admit, I was very reluctant about this new experience, but when I was sitting in that chair with my headset on, it felt almost as if I was there; I felt vertigo, the reaction of people next to me, the wind, I felt even the heat of the sun, even though, I subconsciously knew I was indoors. If you have a smartphone and around £80 spare for the headset you can easily experience anything you want, the question is: with this kind