Current Training Situation!
This is my first post on this forum, so please be nice!
I’ve been scouring these forums for a while now, but I feel like I need to have a bit of a rant about the current situation.
It seems to be apparent that to become an airline pilot you either need to be very rich or get yourself into unmanageable amounts of debt, without any guarantee of a job (unless you bag yourself a place on one of the rare mentored schemes).
I’m currently a student studying an aviation related degree and we have had representatives from some of the major integrated flight schools in the industry which boast that they are bringing “affordable flight training” to the masses. They talk about funding and getting out loans for £80,000 plus! I knew flight training was and is expensive but is it really worth getting out a loan of that amount to be tied to a bank for the next 10+ years and living off a relatively small salary in comparison to the investment that you have committed into this career.
I have also noted that the cost of such integrated schools has risen dramatically in the past 12 months. I know for one FTO the exchange rate between the pound and the euro has caused the increase in price, but other schools seem to have follow suit even in the current economic situation. Surely the cost of fuel etc hasn’t caused a 15% price increase in course costs over this time. Would I be correct in thinking that the flight schools are suffering from a reduced intake of pupils, therefore a rise in fees will cover the deficit? I am sure that the when the pupil numbers start to increase again once the industry is looking positive, the course fee’s will not reduce and this will become the norm.
I will be gaining my PPL over the summer and enjoy private flying while waiting to see if the industry picks up over the next few years. Surely airlines must know how much of a struggle it is to get into this career, and offer some kind of help and support to wannabes, but then again with the likes of Ryanair about, they can only force the industry down further.
Sorry for the negativity in this post, but I’m sure my views will be shared by many people reading this forum. Any personal opinions on this post would be appreciated.
Thanks,
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