USA for sponsorship?

[minty88]

Hi

I gained my PPL today!. I am 20 and currenlty doing a undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering. however when i graduate i want to become an airline pilot. Ive been looking at lots of differnt airlines and it seems virtally impossible to gain a sponsorship in the UK. yet when i been looking looking the USA based airlines there seem to be a few more around. is there any chance that a british female will be able to gain one of these??

[IrishJetdriver]

I would be very confident to say there is no chance at all. For example, United Airlines are just about to furlough 1450 pilots and nearly all the other major players are likely to do the same thing. I expect Southwest will not let anyone go.

As you can see, the US pilot market is about to become swamped with very experienced pilots so to sponsor someone is just noy going to happen.

What may happen, is that some of these experienced pilots will come to Europe, thus filling the treasured seats that so many newly qualified pilots are hoping for.

It is not a pretty picture and I wish you luck. Your best route is to get some money together and then get qualified. By the time you're done the market may have settled again.

Good luck.

[adverse-bump]

hahaha, no chance!

[zondaracer]

Um...... I don't think sponsorships exist in the USA, not counting the military.

[Bradda G]

No sponsorships here whatsoever my friend. Trust di 'old' guy! He knows... :)

BTW, I would definitely continue on ME track. The market is definitely in favour for up and coming engineers (talking from personal experience).

Again, trust di 'old' guy...he's been around for a lil bit! :ok:

[SNS3Guppy]

In the US, things work a little differently. Sponsorship is a very foreign concept. While airlines do hire some non-US pilots and citizens from other countries, it's unusual. In the US, generally the qualifications for hire are considerably higher...where an airline in the UK will hire a pilot with 300 hours after sponsoring them, in the US the airline will hire the pilot who has five thousand hours, obtained on their own...and it's competitive enough they'll have 70,000 applicants with that kind of experience, too.

Over the last few years the hiring minimums have dropped considerably to where regional airlines in the US have been hiring at laughable minimums...some as low as 300 hours for a regional airline. However, in general it's not uncommon for competitive minimums to be much higher.

In the US, generally once one has obtained all the necessary certification, one will work for one or two years as a flight instructor, then a couple of years doing charter or freight in small piston twins...and eventually move into small turboprop piston twins, etc. One finds various work such as banner towing, traffic watch, towing gliders or skydivers, etc. Eventually as experience grows and opportunities allow, pilots will find jobs doing corporate, some airline, etc. Even the regionals which have been hiring at extremely low numbers have traditionally required at least 1,500 to 2,500 hours to apply...and then pay a wage so low that many are unable to survive on what they get.

I'd never run across sponsorship until I moved to Australia, and met the Qantas cadet program. I wasn't allowed in the program, but found it interesting none the less. Later I ran into similiar programs by other operators such as Cathay and Lufthansa, etc. They're out there, of course, but not in the US. The closest you'll find are companies which offer programs in which you fly right seat on a small regional type airplane such as a Beech 1900. You have to pay them to sit there, and they don't pay you...these companies will work you to death for two hundred or so hours, then kick you loose, keep your money, and you end up back on the street with 200 worthless hours and no money. All those types of companies do, really, is lower the bar for everyone (what other profession has their employees pay to be there?)...and are generally looked upon unfavorably.

Stick with your course presently. The industry overall is seeing a bit of a downturn. Be patient. This comes and goes in cycles. The US is seeing a very big downturn. (Our company minimums are 4,000 hours, but competitive minimums presently are probably more like 8,000 to 12,000 hours, judging from the applicants we've recently hired)...lots of outfits furloughing or going out of business right now. Things will pick up down the line, just give it some time. Work on your certification, find some entry level work (flight instructing is a great place to start), and as opportunities allow, keep an eye out for work. You'll find it.

[Adios]

The general lack of sponsorships in the US is not the biggest problem. The fact that you have no green card and likely no legitimate reason to obtain one is the problem. Unemployed pilots are a dime a dozen in the US, so they are not likely to import more pilots.

[corsair]

I saw a job spec recently at a skydive outfit in the US. It wanted 1000 hours, CPL/Multi/IR. To fly a Twin Otter, be available seven days a weeks. Be expected to wash the airplane every week. All this for a princely sum of $22,000 PA. Oh and pay for their own training.

Yes, things are different in the US alright.