From the Start - F/O Andrew Vialoux’s Aviation Journey… so far

We’re delighted to introduce First Officer Andrew Vialoux to you. As our first Jetstar contributor, Andrew adds another view to our series of pilot progression stories.

With contributions from pilots of Air New Zealand, Sounds Air, Emirates, Qantas, Susi Air, Fiji Airways, Horizon Air, United Airlines and Mission Aviation Fellowship, it’s lovely to get another New Zealand airline on board. We welcome Jetstar on board

In this Part One of two parts biography, Andrew shares what got him started and how he went about it. Enjoy the read 👍

First Officer Andrew Vialoux - Jetstar

Hi, I am Andrew Vialoux (pronounced VEE-LOO), a First Officer on the A320 and A321 for Jetstar NZ, Flight Instructor and Director of Advanced Flight Training, and a GA Flight Examiner for Flight Test NZ. Pauwels Flying Scholarship asked if I could provide a blog post, so here goes a summary of my career so far.

The start of my interest in the industry stemmed from tinkering with radio control models as a young teen. I would work after school at Hobby City, a model shop in Auckland and go to the flying model club on the weekends.

At a similar time, my mum achieved her PPL (A) at North Shore Aero Club, a bucket list item for her, and a rare opportunity for me to go up in a light aircraft for the very first time.

I don’t know what drove me to thinking of flying as a career, I think it just seemed like a natural progression of the model aircraft flying. I looked into my options and the only pathway I could see as viable at the time was the RNZAF, as it was fully funded training. As is the nature of the aviation industry, setbacks are inevitable, and my first one was being unsuccessful at the officer aircrew selection board for a pilot position when I was 17. At the time it seemed like the end of the world, but as they say, hindsight is 20/20.

After another year at school and considering my options, I came across the School of Aviation at Massey University. I have considered a degree not related to aviation once leaving school, but this combined the best of both worlds in my mind, flying and tertiary study. Even better, it was another fully funded option, even if that was onto a student loan.

And so, I moved to Palmerston North in 2011 at the age of 19 and quickly found that I enjoyed the environment, flight training and study kept me engaged and the three years of the programme passed by quickly and achieved quite well. I worked part-time at another model shop, Terrace End Books & Toys and also went milking during my instructor training. It all helped to pay the rent! Once I completed my flight training and Bachelor of Aviation, I was fortunate enough to be employed as a flight instructor. At Massey, I found a passion for flight instruction, becoming a B-Category, Multi-Engine, Instrument, Night, Aerobatic & Spinning Instructor in the process. Alongside this I also became involved in drone (RPAS) courses including flight testing which put my previous model aircraft interest to effective use. During these years as an instructor, I stumbled across my next obstacle, an unsuccessful airline interview. Again, at the time it seemed like the end of the world.

First solo at Massey

At this point, I made the decision to go and gain operational experience. I thought that a career as a flight instructor was something in which I was interested. However, without operational experience, I had a tough time convincing myself that I was teaching my students relevant skills to an operational environment. I had also realised that my learning & teaching style required conviction on my part. If I was unsure or not convinced on what I was doing, my learning and teaching methods would suffer. My ATPL theory credit expiry was also a motivating factor.

I was again fortunate when I secured a position in the aeromedical and charter industry in 2018. This was an eye opener to the GA industry that I had been isolated from during my flight training and instructing. I was operating single pilot KingAir C90 & B200 aircraft on call. I gained experience quickly which allowed me to sit my ATPL flight test in 2020 before yet another one of those seemingly unsurmountable setbacks occurred. My position coincidentally came to an end at the same time as COVID started, which made it difficult to figure out what the future might hold for my flying career to say the least. Yet another ‘setback’ that I could not perceive as being a positive one at the time.

During the associated lockdowns, I completed my Master of Aviation which I had been chipping away over the previous years.

Graduation of Master of Aviation at Massey

After moving to Christchurch I started to begin getting my instructor rating current and contracting to those in the area in 2021. I managed to pick up enough work to cover the costs of keeping my ratings and medical current, but not much more! So to help, I worked at the local model shop Acorn Models to supplement income. I had some great fun learning new skills instructing in a different environment than I had done so before and so I decided to invest in the flight instruction that I had retained a passion for. I was incredibly grateful to receive scholarships from both ASPEQ and NZALPA towards my A-Category flight instructor rating which I achieved in 2022. I continued this pathway and gained my GA Flight Examiner rating shortly after in 2023. This turned into starting Advanced Flight Training, which is a small flight training organisation based at Rangiora Aerodrome with several other enthusiastic flight instructors and examiners.

A-Cat photo in front of two aircraft after flight test (Piper PA-28 & Alpha A160)

In 2024, an opportunity popped up at Jetstar NZ. They were advertising for A320 first officers based in Christchurch, which was a huge factor in the decision-making process for our family. So, I bit the bullet and applied! I was successful and started my type rating training at L3 Harris in Bangkok. On completion of the type rating, I started my training at Jetstar and completed my line check later that same year. I am still very fresh on the A320, and I continue to truly enjoy the learning process that regular line checks and cyclic simulators provide.

I am very cautious about offering advice, as I am of the belief that everyone’s circumstances are unique, and that generic advice doesn’t take that into account. However, there is one consistent factor I have seen in aviation. That is, no matter how difficult that may be or how many times you are knocked back, those who continue flying will always be the ones who end up making a lifetime career in aviation.

Thanks Andrew. We’ll hear from Andrew again in a fortnight when he’ll talk in more depth about his journey through Flight Instructing and then transitioning into airline flying.