Dubbo Regional Council's bid to be a base for the airline's project had been one of nine shortlisted from more than 60 last year.

Despite missing out to Toowoomba for the first Qantas Group Pilot Academy, the Orana region city remained a hopeful for the second.

But on Friday Mackay came up trumps, with the airline citing its "high proportion of clear weather days per year, access to uncongested airspace, access to support infrastructure and ability to attract students and trainers to live in the area".

While disappointed Dubbo missed out, mayor Ben Shields said the city should still be proud of the case it made and congratulated those involved in the bid.

"I still firmly believe that Dubbo would have made a great location for a training academy but I accept Qantas' decision and congratulate Mackay," Cr Shields said.

"The feedback from Qantas about Dubbo's bid was very positive and made it clear we were in the running until the very end.

"I want to congratulate council staff and others who were involved in our bid, and I particularly want to thank the young stars who featured in our promotional video.

"It attracted so much attention and made us a talking point of the whole process."

Cr Shields said while the Qantas academy would have been a welcome addition, Dubbo City Regional Airport was already thriving.

"I am amazed by the amount of activity out at the airport," he said.

"Aside from being one of the largest regional airports in NSW for passengers, we have an emergency services precinct involving Police, Rural Fire Service, Volunteer Rescue Association, State Emergency Service and Royal Flying Doctor Service.

"It is already a great asset for our region and I have no doubt we will continue to see significant growth and other major projects established there in the future."

Qantas pilot academy executive manager Wes Nobelius said the airport, government and community had shown why Mackay would be an ideal place to train the next generation of pilots.

"Mackay offers optimal flying conditions and a sunny Queensland lifestyle which makes it an ideal site for a pilot academy," Mr Nobelius said.

"Our initial focus is opening the first pilot academy site in Toowoomba and rapidly expanding the number of pilots there next year, before we progress our plans for Mackay."

Mr Nobelius said the announcement brought to a close the process to narrow down the possible sites from more than 60 to just two.

"To the remaining six shortlisted cities - we thank all of you for taking part," he said.

"If we could have placed a pilot academy in every one of your cities, we would have.

"We know these proposals took a great deal of time and effort, but it gave us insight into your community and plenty of ideas for where we can grow in the future."

The academy is part of the Qantas Group's strategy to build a long-term talent pipeline for its own airlines and help the industry meet the rising need for aviators.

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