Royal Flying Doctor Service Draws Hundreds of Pilots to Life-Saving Roles in Rural Australia

Without pilots, the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section) (RFDS) would not be able to provide life-saving care to those who live in regional, rural and remote communities. However, RFDS, like the broader aviation sector, is experiencing a pilot shortage.

To address the challenge, Cummins&Partners was enlisted to recruit 20 pilots to ensure the RFDS could continue to deliver their aeromedical and primary health care services across the state.

The creative platform ‘Life off Autopilot’ was born to attract pilots away from the high flying (and high paying) world of commercial airlines by reminding them of one simple thing: What attracted them to flying in the first place?

The world of an RFDS pilot is unpredictable, exhilarating and the most pure test of your flying abilities, as you could be flying into a big airport one day and landing on a highway the next. Not only that, you are flying the latest aircraft and playing a pivotal role in saving the lives of Australians.

To highlight the lifestyle, the life-affirming work and the incredible career satisfaction a pilot with RFDS can have, Cummins partnered with director and photographer Andrew Englisch from SAFARI to spend a few days in the life of an RFDS pilot to demonstrates how different their world is from the routine of a commercial pilot.

In just the first 3 days of the campaign, over 130 pilots applied to work at RFDS and this number continues to grow with more than 365 applications.

Sean Cummins said, "Life off Autopilot isn't just a platform, but a challenge to pilots. With highly targeted and emotive creative, we were able to reach pilots in those rare moments of contemplation and introspection at airports in between domestic flights and in their down time on LinkedIn and social media.”

RFDS (Queensland Section) executive general manager commercial and corporate affairs Carole Tokody said it was important to work closely with Cummins to develop a targeted recruitment campaign that showcased the unique opportunities flying for the RFDS offers.

“We know how incredible our pilots are and how unique their day to day is,” Ms Tokody said.

“It was important that this campaign accurately reflects the immense value RFDS pilots bring to regional and remote communities, and I think we’ve achieved that significantly with ‘Life off Autopilot’.”

In a testament to their understanding of the role and values that RFDS plays, Cummins has expanded their remit with the client with more work coming out in the coming months.