A 'quality' pilot shortage?
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A 'quality' pilot shortage?
There has been talk of a pilot shortage many times during the course of the past 20 years or so.
Never in my experience as a commercial pilot have I ever known the 'flag carriers' advertise on TV for pilots.
Currently I have seen British Airways and Cathay Pacific adverts which are, I'm sure, unprecedented.
Is it a case of a 'quality' pilot shortage with pilots from other carriers not matching up to the stringent requirements of these leading airlines in the numbers required?
The current training of so called 'cadets' suit applicants who have the mental and physical aptitude to pass the courses - but have they got the all round 'gravitas' required of these airlines.
Maybe not it seems - or have I missed a dire shortage of pilots not mooted elsewhere on this Forum?!
Never in my experience as a commercial pilot have I ever known the 'flag carriers' advertise on TV for pilots.
Currently I have seen British Airways and Cathay Pacific adverts which are, I'm sure, unprecedented.
Is it a case of a 'quality' pilot shortage with pilots from other carriers not matching up to the stringent requirements of these leading airlines in the numbers required?
The current training of so called 'cadets' suit applicants who have the mental and physical aptitude to pass the courses - but have they got the all round 'gravitas' required of these airlines.
Maybe not it seems - or have I missed a dire shortage of pilots not mooted elsewhere on this Forum?!
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There is no shortage of pilots (tens of thousands unemployed and withouy hope of ever being employed)
There is shortage of experienced pilots with experience in type. But only when there is an abrupt expansion. These become stagnant sooner or later and then there is no pilot shortage at all, but layoffs.
Pilot shortage was the excuse to change licensing laws and saturate the market with pilot licenses so airline profits increased.
There is shortage of experienced pilots with experience in type. But only when there is an abrupt expansion. These become stagnant sooner or later and then there is no pilot shortage at all, but layoffs.
Pilot shortage was the excuse to change licensing laws and saturate the market with pilot licenses so airline profits increased.
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I think the BA ad ties in with their need for 800 pilots over the next 4 years!
Would hate to be at the bottom of that seniority list in a few years time.
Not really. You don't have to be 'quality' to get into BA, you just have to be good enough on the day. The proof being that I know people who passed BA after their 4th attempt!
And I also know people who passed at their first attempt but into the hold pool which sadly for them, expired. So they were made to do it all again and many of these people failed second time around.
Silly process really.
Would hate to be at the bottom of that seniority list in a few years time.
Is it a case of a 'quality' pilot shortage with pilots from other carriers not matching up to the stringent requirements of these leading airlines in the numbers required?
And I also know people who passed at their first attempt but into the hold pool which sadly for them, expired. So they were made to do it all again and many of these people failed second time around.
Silly process really.
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And I also know people who passed at their first attempt but into the hold pool which sadly for them, expired. So they were made to do it all again and many of these people failed second time around.
Bloody hell ... being lucky is more important than being well prepared!
It cannot possibly be a 'shortage of quality pilots' when there is:
a) an abundance of qualified pilots looking for work, the vast majority experienced in regional, turboprop, air taxi aircraft;
b) the airlines have unanimously sidelined these pilots in preference for 200 hour guys, new to the industry, and looking to jump the experience hurdle by self sponsor themselves.
Now, you can make the argument that the pilots in situation 'a' above are inherently unsuitable because they are too moulded in lighter aircraft, etc... or whatever the current mindset of the airlines/flight schools is. You can also argue that pilots in situation 'b' are 'easier to mould', etc... Both view being championed by parties with a great deal to gain from selling SSTRs, strangely enough. If the situation was true, and supported by a relevant safety analysis with empirical evidence, then I imagine the US would have changed it's route to the majors a long time ago.
Frankly I believe the bottom line is that all airlines need to create revenue from tratining to compete with the mass subsidization of certain airlines by people paying ratings. I don't believe that pilots in situation 'a' are less suitable at all. They may be less willing to pay ratings, but they've worked their way up and earnt the hard hours. I've never seen any evidence of a high washout rate for experienced pilots transitions to jets or off regional jets onto narrow bodies. I think its easier for the airlines to dress it up in a more palatable 'safety' shroud rather than saying, 'we don't want the best, we want the cheapest'.
In conclusion, there cannot be a shortage of 'quality pilots' when a large portion of commercial pilots are not eligible to apply (1-2000 hours, no TR and not eligible to join a sponsored ab initio course) and therefore not assessed.
That's how I see the industry at the moment - and sadly I don't see it changing.
a) an abundance of qualified pilots looking for work, the vast majority experienced in regional, turboprop, air taxi aircraft;
b) the airlines have unanimously sidelined these pilots in preference for 200 hour guys, new to the industry, and looking to jump the experience hurdle by self sponsor themselves.
Now, you can make the argument that the pilots in situation 'a' above are inherently unsuitable because they are too moulded in lighter aircraft, etc... or whatever the current mindset of the airlines/flight schools is. You can also argue that pilots in situation 'b' are 'easier to mould', etc... Both view being championed by parties with a great deal to gain from selling SSTRs, strangely enough. If the situation was true, and supported by a relevant safety analysis with empirical evidence, then I imagine the US would have changed it's route to the majors a long time ago.
Frankly I believe the bottom line is that all airlines need to create revenue from tratining to compete with the mass subsidization of certain airlines by people paying ratings. I don't believe that pilots in situation 'a' are less suitable at all. They may be less willing to pay ratings, but they've worked their way up and earnt the hard hours. I've never seen any evidence of a high washout rate for experienced pilots transitions to jets or off regional jets onto narrow bodies. I think its easier for the airlines to dress it up in a more palatable 'safety' shroud rather than saying, 'we don't want the best, we want the cheapest'.
In conclusion, there cannot be a shortage of 'quality pilots' when a large portion of commercial pilots are not eligible to apply (1-2000 hours, no TR and not eligible to join a sponsored ab initio course) and therefore not assessed.
That's how I see the industry at the moment - and sadly I don't see it changing.
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You need to be well prepared AND lucky with BA. Just being lucky is very unlikely to get you through the many hoops in the BA selection process.
You need luck in any interview process. After all it is a human designed process. So BA is hardly 'silly'. Exactly the same issues as any other job selection process. That is no compensation to those that passed and then didn't pass second time round of course.
You need luck in any interview process. After all it is a human designed process. So BA is hardly 'silly'. Exactly the same issues as any other job selection process. That is no compensation to those that passed and then didn't pass second time round of course.
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Maybe if we substitute 'suitable' instead of qualified. Emirates, Cathay, BA all seek different attributes. Whereas the low cost sector have a different agenda totally. I have a feeling most of us will have a whole career waiting for the 'pilot shortage' ..
Heard them referred to as "Canned Pilots".
I am fascinated by the description "quality pilot". Can anyone out there furnish the definition of a "quality pilot"?
I spent 18 years flying for Mrs Windsor and I was often assessed as "Above the Average" but I never considered myself to be a "quality pilot".
I then went on to have a modestly successful 27 years in civil aviation and the only grading that I can remember receiving or giving as an examiner was "Satis" or "Unsatis".
Perhaps the modern term of "quality pilot" means the same as what we used to say;
"Can he shift aeroplanes or can't he"?
I spent 18 years flying for Mrs Windsor and I was often assessed as "Above the Average" but I never considered myself to be a "quality pilot".
I then went on to have a modestly successful 27 years in civil aviation and the only grading that I can remember receiving or giving as an examiner was "Satis" or "Unsatis".
Perhaps the modern term of "quality pilot" means the same as what we used to say;
"Can he shift aeroplanes or can't he"?
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Defo no shortage. In today's HR driven world, it all can all come down to whether or not you demonstrate the competencies that they are assessing you for. Hours and ratings these days count for little, apart from meeting requirements for ZFT conversions or those required for DEC, or to have stayed 'current' etc. HR peeps are not Pilots and they simply don't understand flying, or flight training.
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the explanation
You have made a fortune training thousands of pilots during the last ten years.
Then, you change industry regulation so that you can make a large part of those pilots not qualified enough, so there is a pilot shortage
Then you propose a new way of training pilots to meet demand.
Then you make another fortune training thousands of pilots...
Then, you change industry regulation so that you can make a large part of those pilots not qualified enough, so there is a pilot shortage
Then you propose a new way of training pilots to meet demand.
Then you make another fortune training thousands of pilots...
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"I do think there is a shortage of pilots with personalities these days."
I totally agree on this one, but then I have the impression that today's airline ignore people with a personality. It's all about being formed into that "lost looking character" with two stripes you see at every airport nowdays.
I totally agree on this one, but then I have the impression that today's airline ignore people with a personality. It's all about being formed into that "lost looking character" with two stripes you see at every airport nowdays.
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I do think there is a shortage of pilots with personalities these days.
It's all about the SOP and not the 'Practical Drift'.