Nelson Aviation College Reports 150 Attendees at 2026 Air New Zealand Wellington Pilot Career Event

New Zealand – Air New Zealand Preferred Flight Training Organisation Nelson Aviation College (NAC) has reported that approximately 150 people attended the first event in Air New Zealand’s August 2026 Pilot Career Evening series in Wellington, with NAC instructor Matt Anderson participating as a panelist. The three-city series continues in Auckland on 13 August and Christchurch on 20 August, providing prospective pilots with direct access to Air New Zealand personnel and its preferred training providers as they evaluate airline-aligned pilot training pathways.

• NAC CEO Giles Witney also attended the Wellington event, where prospective pilots and their families were able to discuss pilot careers, training pathways and Air New Zealand’s recruitment environment with airline pilots and Preferred Flight Training Organisations.
• NAC is an Air New Zealand Preferred Flight Training Organisation and delivers the airline-designed Airline Integration Course at its Nelson Airport facility. The four-week course has operated since 2013 and introduces low-hour pilots to multi-crew cockpit operations, airline procedures, human factors and modern turbine-aircraft systems.
• The Airline Integration Course uses a Pacific Simulators Boeing 737-800 simulator at NAC. Students complete five simulator sessions working as pilot flying and pilot monitoring in a multi-person crew environment; the sessions are designed for airline preparation rather than Boeing 737 type-rating training.
• NAC’s New Zealand Diploma in Aviation – Airline Preparation includes CPL and instrument training, ATPL theory, multi-engine training and the Airline Integration Course. The qualification comprises 180 flight-training hours, including 59 hours on the Cessna 152, 88 hours on the Cessna 172 and 20 hours of multi-engine flying.

About Nelson Aviation College
Nelson Aviation College is a New Zealand flight training organisation established in 1978, providing private, commercial, instrument, flight instructor and airline-preparation training. Its current published fleet types comprise Cessna 152, Garmin G1000 NXi-equipped Cessna 172S and Piper PA-44 Seminole aircraft. The college also operates simulation equipment including a Pacific Simulators Boeing 737-800 device used for the Air New Zealand Airline Integration Course. AFM reported that NAC graduated 39 pilots from its Class of 2026.

Source: Nelson Aviation College