Quebec City native Felix-Antoine Bolduc used to be a flight attendant, but it didn’t take him long to realize he had higher aspirations: to fly passenger jets.
“I had the chills right next to the flight deck. It was terrible,” he said.
“It’s so big. You’re transporting up to 400 people. It’s totally crazy. The airplanes are so big, just landing it is awesome.”
Bolduc is one of the first students at Quebec City’s new iFly College, the only English-language flight school in the province.
“It’s the first real flying school in Quebec City that is affiliated with a real airline,” said Vincent Gagnon, iFly College vice-president.
The airline, Chrono Aviation, started four years ago and had just one airplane.
Since then, it has grown to nine planes and 65 employees.
Gagnon and his partners are constantly searching for good pilots.
“There’s a big lack of pilots around the world,” he explained.
“The next 10 years is going to be the best time for someone who wants to become a pilot to start right now because there are jobs everywhere.”
iFly College gives Chrono Aviation an opportunity to train the pilots they will eventually hire.
They also have multiple programs for private and commercial pilots that last between six months and three years.
“When you start flying in your career, everywhere in the States and everywhere in the world, everything is in English,” Gagnon said, of why the courses are taught in English.
Bolduc, who is already bilingual, will finish his program in a year.
He said he’s optimistic about his job prospects and the chance to get his dream career off the ground.