Unemployed pilots?
 

Just wondering how many qualified pilots are currently out of work, not including newbies!! Will there be a shortage in a few years? As far as I can tell with my limited abilities/experience there are very few people coming through the system. Do airlines not plan ahead that far? If an airline dumps on me now then if the s**t hits the fan in a few years I'm not gonna be looking for a job with them!
No pilots = airplanes on the ground = bye bye Ryanair!

Nice theory, but don't think for one moment that there won't be someone else who is willing to do that in your place. As long as thats the case then airlines will continue to 'dump' on you.

Nobody is irreplaceable but just wondering how many people there are currently looking for jobs, or if there is a shortage looming. With flying schools closing down it seems that less people are taking it up as a career.

If those who can remember cast their mind back to the Gulf War, there was a halt on training then. The net reult: a shortage of trained pilots when things picked up. However, ten years later...........!

[ 22 December 2001: Message edited by: Dan Winterland ]</p>

Here in the states we are seeing an increase of resumes. But after looking through them you find that they are not much different that what we were getting before 9/11. Not much more experience. Add to that, the insurance companies increasing not only the premium but also the pilot qualifications makes for an interesting mix. It was had enough for a charter operator to get people who met the old standards. Now it is almost impossible. I have one pilot I am using as a Lear Captain that doesn't meet the new requirements for a co-pilot. And it doesn't look much better in the future. As a small operator (2 Lears and a PA31) it is difficult to get reasonable insurance. And that is what dictates hiring policies. The airlines can do much better. The guys who are laid off are going to find some surprises out there.

Richard

Shortage .. has there ever been ? ... don't think so ! when airlines start to headhunt people at the ATPL exams then there is a shortage .. there may have been a shortage of trained crew, however it doesn't take long to do a typerating..

In the UK its around 1 in 7 of the UK professional pilots are either out of work, working their redundancy or on notice of possible redundancy.

Thats an awful lot of us out of a job. Second time in 2 years for me and many of my workmates.