It is no surprise that flying training is down.
Lets face it, 50 years from now, the 50's - 90's will be remembered as "The Golden Age of Aviation".
I remember reading an article recently stating that between 1960 and 1975, the growth rate of aviation as a whole in the US was between 15-20% PER YEAR, EVERY YEAR. No doubt the growth rates in this country were a bit more subdued, however, sadly I think those days are gone forever.
There are only so many holidays that people can take and it would appear people place more importance on renovating their house than taking holidays. Business travel is not as huge these days due to video internet conferencing, there is not as much need to fly business people across the country side.
And then there is the crap money paid to this so called profession. It is no longer considered a skill, firstly by aviation management and secondly by the travelling public.
I was speaking to Qantas Captain last year and he told me when he left a full time Chieftain charter gig back in '82, he was earning
$28,000pa. Guess what the average Chieftain driver is earning now - about 20% more, if they are lucky. However, in '82, a bloody house didn't cost you half a million in Sydney and you could buy a brand new family car for under $15,000.