basil fawlty |
27th Apr 2002 12:14 |
Right now there are simply more qualified pilots around than there are jobs. As stated earlier its supply and demand. In general, its true to say that there are more aircraft flying around now than ever before, and the number of ex mil pilots (the traditional source of airline pilots) has dwindled, but the number of people sponsoring themselves through training has skyrocketed over the last decade. Why? well, it is much easier to go out and get a big financial loan to cover the costs these days. The banks etc. are prepared to lend larger sums than before and are less stringent about who they lend money to nowadays. The big winners in all of this are the flying schools, from small club up thru to the likes of oxford. Everyone has a choice about where, and on what they spend their money on, and for many it will be the best £40000 they will ever spend, but for others its the road to shattered dreams and a lifetime of debt. I know a number of flying schools have "gone bust" over the years, but its rarely through lack of business. Its more like mismanagement, or the directors/shareholders taking too much cash out of the business, therefore making insolvency a much more possible occurance. How many flying schools have you seen in the UK that operate out of tatty buildings with tatty aircraft, yet the manager has a porsche or such like in the car park? Anyway, I digress...its just a thought. The first two lines of the post answered your question!
|