Eighteen international student pilots left in the lurch by the receivership of Tauranga-based Heli-Pro have chosen Mainland Aviation College at Dunedin International Airport to complete their studies.
About 50 days after Heli-Pro went into receivership, Mainland's student numbers have more than tripled, from eight to 26, with the additions of a ''United Nations'' of international students, Mainland general manager Shirley Kean said.
Some of the 18 international students had been unwittingly caught up in two recent aviation receiverships in New Zealand, losing money twice in the process.
''It's not a good look. It makes people wary. We want to build up good international relationships,'' Mrs Kean said.
Mainland has been operating since 1991, having had about 270 students over the years, and offers fixed-wing flying tuition, in nine training craft, including Cessna 152, Tobago and twin-engined Senecas and Chieftains, plus a flight simulator.
''It can be a bit like the United Nations around here at times,'' she said of current students from Oman, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Nepal, Papua and China.
The majority of students are in their early 20s and pay $70,000-$80,000 for flight training over 18 months.
Mrs Kean said Mainland offered ''pastoral care'' for the international students, which included them all staying together in Dunedin in accommodation Mainland organised.
After Heli-Pro went into receivership, all New Zealand's flight schools were vying to offer the 18 students places, she said.
She believes the combination of a visit directly to the students in Tauranga, by her husband, Mainland chief executive Phil Kean, and chief flight instructor Hamish Mosley, and praise from former students, swung their choice in Mainland's favour.
Their presence was a ''nice economic boost'' for the city, with accommodation, cars and groceries, she said, noting that packed lunches was not one of the students' strong points. They spent about a $1000 a week on airport lunches.
A benefit for some Mainland students was that it operating Mainland Air Charters Ltd, with four aircraft, meaning the students, when qualified, could begin building up a log book of flying hours and experience.
Heli-Pro, with about 70 staff, 30 helicopters and some fixed-wing craft, was a charter, tourism and training venture. It put itself in voluntary receivership in early October, with estimates it might owe creditors tens of millions of dollars.
