And the future holds???
Hi all,
Please excuse me if this topic has been covered elsewhere, or there have been similar topics in the past, but I really have to get this off my chest.
I am a 24 year old PPL, with a valid night rating and instrument rating, and only have a few exams to go to finish my South African Comm. I am not financially in the position to study for my JAR licence at the moment, but am I am living in the UK now. I attended an aviation seminar recently, and found out a few interesting and disappointing facts.
Having read through the forums regularly, I have read of Easy Jet's situation, and have it on reliable information that BA is about to retrench 100 pilots next week. Sure, I can understand that political situations are leading to uneasy times re: oil price etc, but at the seminar they told us that 40% of all UK airline pilots would be retiring within the next five years, while air travel was expected to continue expanding. I asked them what plans they had to replace these pilots, and the answer was... zero. There are currently very few airlines providing cadet schemes to wouldbe airline pilots like myself who can't afford a fortune to get their ATPL's themselves. Surely this will lead to a shortage of pilots and therefore a possible reduction in safety and standards I ask. No answer.
Then I ask where I would stand with regards to a cadet scheme if there was one, and am told that I would be very unlikely to get into a scheme, as airlines generally try to get people in on ab initio courses and train them in their own way, and I have too many hours, and therefore have developed bad habits.
Reading between the lines then, it seems that airlines would rather place their faith in people with relatively no experience for cadet schemes, than look at people that have proven their committment to aviation, and have sold their grandmothers to get as far as they have. The aviation industry has always been particularly fickle, and lets face it, job security is not a big plus factor, but there are some of us that are prepared to accept that and worse to acheive our ambitions.
So whereto from here? Well, I am now forced into a decision that I didn't want to have to make. I'm financially finished, so continuing with aviation is a non starter. Perhaps I'll become a plumber, and will always be left looking over my shoulder and thinking what if... and the aviation industry will have lost a dedicated, keen and enthusiastic pilot. Worrying times ahead indeed!
Anyone else in this boat?
Stormme