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Captain Al Spain Sr. VP (Ret.)
Aviation Industry Job Outlook
Why it’s still a good time to attend flight schools
With the slowing of the U.S. economy and uncertainty in the near future, many prospective pilots are asking "is it a good time to start flight training?" The answer is a resounding "YES"! In fact, it may be one of the best times ever to become a professional pilot. Although the major U.S. airlines may not be hiring, and some, in fact, are laying off pilots, jobs at regional carriers such as Comair, Airnet Express, SkyWest, and many more are hiring pilots. And the stiff hiring prerequisites found in the past have been loosened recently as the regional airlines compete for pilots in a field where a pilot shortage is actually occurring. And the U.S. is one of only several growing markets for pilots. If you’re willing to work abroad, many more opportunities await you in Europe, India, Asia, and the Middle East where airline pilot and corporate pilot jobs are booming.
Plane & Pilot Magazine’s "Five Reasons to Become a Pilot NOW!"
1. Worldwide demand for pilots is increasing and shows no signs of slowing down - "The international demand is there for at least 10,000 captains a year, flying everything from business jets to 777s..."
2. The corporate aviation market is robust and growing - "The pay and perks remain excellent."
3. Right now is the best time to train - "...it’s far better to train during the economic downturn (and be prepared when the inevitable hiring boom returns) than to scramble for training during the hiring boom."
4. Fractional and very light jets (VLJs) need pilots - "Fractional ownership companies...are expanding as the need for different types of air travel grows. The pay and benefits are among the best in the industry."
5. The best training is available right here (in the USA) - "Take advantage of the high-quality training available from the country’s top facilities. Many are the best in the world." (source: Marc C. Lee, Plane & Pilot Magazine, October 08 issue - Plane and Pilot Magazine)
Demand for pilots remains high for 20 years
"The world’s airlines will need more than 17,000 flight schools graduates each year for the next 20 years to fill the seats of the airplanes on order...the experience minimums some of the airlines are now requiring for pilots have tumbled...the average now is 250 total hours and 25 multiengine, and a few require only the commercial rating." (source: Flying Magazine - Flying Magazine Flight Training Section)
"Is There Really Still a Demand for Pilots?"
"We’re in the greatest demand we’ve seen in 25 years," reports Shawn Raker, president of CEO of FTSI. "Right now, we’re experiencing a 98% placement rate." (source: Marc C. Lee, Plane & Pilot Magazine, October 08 issue - Plane and Pilot Magazine)
Today’s pilot shortage
It’s no secret that there’s a worldwide pilot shortage. According to a recent Wired.com article (blog.wired.com), "the International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects airline passenger traffic to grow by 5.1 percent between now and 2011. According to Airbus, dealing with this growth will require more than 24,000 new planes over the next 25 years, and those new planes won’t fly themselves -- they need pilots. How many? The IATA says that in order to meet demand, 19,000 pilots will need to be trained each year until 2026. Flight schools currently crank out around 16,000 annually."
Flight school instructor shortages
Regional airlines are hiring new pilots at low flight time requirements. As a result, there’s a huge shortage of Certified Flight Instructors at flight training operations worldwide. Flight schools must replace their flight instructors with new pilots, and the best way to do that is to transition their flight school students into certified flight instructors (CFIs). Today’s flight school candidates are almost assured of a CFI position at the school they attend, and CFIs can build flight hours quickly on their path to regional and major airline jobs.
Are airline pilot jobs still growing?
According to the Air Transport Action Group (www.atag.org)"2.0 billion passengers rely every year on the world’s airlines for business and vacation travel and over 29 million tonnes of high-value freight are carried by air. Growth of air transport largely depends on global and regional economic cycles. It is also heavily affected by acts of war or terrorism - for example the Gulf war of 1991 or the events of 11 September 2001. But the long-term demand trend is always positive and the figures for passengers and freight are likely to double again within the next 12 to 15 years according to demand."
Medium term flight training outlook still positive
According to FlightGlobal.com’s David Learmount, "The gloomy current airline market may cast a long shadow over the training industry, but historic experience of market cycles combined with contemporary economic trends present a much more complex and - in the medium term - promising picture for the airlines and flight training organizations. The world’s financial institutions will, in due course, sort out their self-created credit woes, the oil prices will find a level that the surviving airlines will learn to live with, the global economy will recover, and the human race will rediscover its irrepressible urge to travel. Meanwhile the training industry is being presented with new tools that will confer advantages not widely available now.
Alteon (Boeing’s worldwide training organization) forecasts that, from 2007 to 2027, airlines will take delivery of 29,400 new aircraft to replace old fleet and cope with the growth in demand for air travel. This, says Sherry Carbary, Alteon’s President, will require an average of 18,000 new pilots and 24,000 maintainers a year to be trained to replace those who retire and also to crew and service the increasing numbers of aircraft in the world fleet. Only by training at those annual rates will the industry be able to meet the estimated need over the next 20 years for a total of 360,000 new pilots and 480,000 new maintainers, Alteon calculates.
North America heads the league in terms of the number of pilots it will need in the next two decades, at 98,000. Europe follows at 70,000. Other regional predicted requirements are: China 49,900, South- East Asia and Indonesia 32,000, Latin America 22,800, Japan 19,000, the Middle East 17,500, the CIS 11,500, Africa 10,100 and Australasia 7,200.
Corporate pilot jobs
Business jet and turboprop deliveries continue to climb with no end in site. And the market for the new "Very LIght Jets" or VLJs looks bright with a few manufacturers now putting the planes into service, and several more prototypes flying. What does this mean for the prospective pilot looking to enter the job market? "To operate this expanding fleet will require about 1,500 new pilots each year, not including additional pilots to replace those who retire, transfer, or who are removed for other reasons. Companies are expected to be in competition with the airlines in the hiring of qualified pilots, most of whom will be instrument rated." (source: www.avjobs.com)
Pilot Career News
Aviation industry is growing!
Read about the bright
future of pilot profession!
Auburn's use of the term Pilot Professional instead of Professional Pilot reflects our philosophy in Flight Education.
When you graduate from our program, you will be much more than a person who is prepared to work as a pilot.
You will have a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, equipped to understand and help manage the organization you serve.
As a result, you will compete stronger as an employment candidate ... your interviewer will recognize your potential for quicker promotion to leadership and supervisory positions (and the $$$ that comes with them!).
What is your Backup Plan?
What happens if something disqualifies you from serving as a pilot? What if personal or family issues make full-time cockpit duty impractical?
A pilot professional is also well-qualified for careers outside the cockpit, should a transition be required or desired. The Business Administration degree will make you a versatile and valuable asset to any employer!
