Pilot career changes....
Business section in today's TIMES (p 53 "New Pilots "priced out" of Training").
This is an issue but only part of a wider change in our industry. Flying has always been an expensive game but it has become much worse for both newbies and pilots wanting to progress up the food chain. The biggest changes of the past 15 years include:
1. The preference for "Integrated" courses sold by FTOs to airline HR managers to the exclusion of Self Improvers who opt to go down the Glider Towing, Instructing, Turboprop, GA route. This has been a nice little earner for Approved FTOs and the airlines are happy paying very low wages (in some cases nothing for 6 months) to the newly hired cadets.
2. The dilution of pilot experience in UK. In part this is as a result of (1) whereby experienced Aviators rarely get the opportunities to progress onto Jet operators. With 911, Sars, Volcanic Ash, Economic Downturn, newly qualified pilots and self improvers have had a very hard time getting any work. And by the time things turn around they are out of currency or getting "too old" for some recruiters.
3. A huge reduction in the number of Military trained pilots coming onto the market (remember 1960s RAF had some 1/4 mil personnel and now around 40k). Yes 2010 SDSR has brought cutbacks and the future may mean more UAVs but overall, less military trained pilots have joined the airlines cf 1980s.
4. All FTOs have found it very hard to recruit highly experienced Instructors. Most Integrated students never consider instructing and having spent £100k, they would rather spend on a Type Rating than £7k on an FI rating. The UK CAA's early adoption of JAR CPL meant no more 700h requirement and hence fewer Instructors being trained up.
5. The dreaded LOCO TRSS/Self Sponsored Type Rating schemes seem to have replaced traditional Employee Bonded agreements. This has become even worse with the advent of Pay to Fly pax. Clearly more about money than Flying Skills or best practice. Many newbees now expect to have to pay for their first airline job! And BALPA have advertised these schemes in THE LOG (BALPA journal).
6. LOCO Airlines have reduced their Pilot workforce Ts&Cs and forced Majors to do the same to compete. A, B, C and even D scales. In real terms the Airline Career now is far worse than in the 1970s. And yet today we hear the BBC spouting Ryanair propoganda about £150k salaries for 18h a week work! The reality is FAR different! One of the main problems is Fatigue and lifestyle that puts many youngsters off. Even Sullenberger told Congress he knew of very few Airline pilots who would recommend their offspring get into an Airline pilot career.
7. Some of the FTOs could do with a shakeup of their proceedures to improve their output standards and create aviators not just button pushers. Humans are good at doing a lot of things but make pretty poor system monitors. Thankfully the CAA, Cranfield University, the RAeS and many in the USA/FAA have done work on Upset recovery aids but this has yet to trickle down to FTOs who have taught TRs the same old way for years - enough to pass an LST but little more.
8. And what is the FTO/Airline/CAA response to any forthcoming shortage? LESS is more - hence MPL !
The media need to heed what is happening in the USA post Colgan and do some investigative journalism to see how cadets are treated and how experienced pilots are often being ignored.
Last edited by angelorange; 4th Nov 2010 at 22:44.