AIRLINES
INFORMATIVE INFORMATION FOR ASPIRING PILOTS
BOEING 777 in FedEx colors, delivered in 2009 and flying now to Asia and Europe.
PILOTS WHO aspire to fly for an airline have a great opportunity currently to become employed with an airline commuter with a relatively low amount of flying experience. As you may have read in the news, some commuter airlines are experiencing a shortage of available, qualified pilots, and are discussing dropping their new-hire requirements. There is discussion that total time flying hours for new hires may drop to 250 hours. That hasn’t occurred in quite some time.
THE BEST way to become employed with one of these airline commuters is to go through a training program that is affiliated with a commuter airline, and has a direct pipeline to a copilot’s job. It isn’t guaranteed that you will be hired, only that you can be recommended and receive an interview. You should have your college degree, and at least the commercial pilot’s license with multi-engine and instrument ratings. Certainly, the more hours of experience you have, the better.
RESEARCH THE Student page on this website to find out which schools may be affiliated with some of the commuter airlines. The web is a great resource, and I’m sure there are other websites that will assist you in locating the best course. I personally have experience with Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, FL, or Prescott, AZ), and Delta State University (Cleveland, MS). Delta State University is an affordable full service university located about one and a half hours south of Memphis, TN. Their program is certainly less expensive than ERAU, and many of their graduates are flying with various commuter and major airlines. One alumna of DSU is currently a very senior executive officer of UPS, which speaks very highly of Delta State. It is sort of a sleeper university in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, yet provides a solid education, and will help you build a strong base to further your aviation pursuits.
AS FAR as the major airlines are going these days, there is a lot of turmoil occurring, as the present economy stagnates from the resultant high fuel prices, and the competitive pressures from competing airlines. Merger talk has been in the news lately, and this always puts a hold on major airline hiring. If you are presently flying for an airline commuter, you might be in a good spot for awhile, unless the trickle-down effect is happening with your commuter. There doesn’t seem to be much relief for passenger commuter and passenger airline pilots, or aspiring passenger pilots.
AN AIRLINE job is not what it used to be, in that many passenger airline pilots have had to surrender their coveted retirement packages and pensions, as the passenger carriers moved into and then out of the bankruptcy process. The airlines have also begun to squeeze more efficient schedules from pilots in an effort to streamline better pilot utilization. So, many passenger airline pilots are flying more, with less pay, and fewer days off.
MANY TIMES, aspiring airline pilots will ask, which is the best way to go, passenger carrier or freight airline? The answer is within you, as only you can decide. In my own case, having flown for a freight airline for the past 24 years, I couldn’t have asked for a more robust career, in the midst of much of the passenger airline turmoil. The simple reason is that freight airlines are more stable, and enjoy the global business benefit of economies of scale, where the business model is flexible enough to benefit from surging economies such as China and India. The freight airlines are poised to reap great economic benefits from the explosion of business from these countries. In contrast, many passenger airlines will not benefit, as their business model is stale, and many US airlines are not in position to reap the economic boom from these surging economies on the Asian continent.
IT’S MY opinion that we will see much further turmoil within the US passenger industry, as consolidation occurs, and passenger carriers shrink their routes and possibly close underperforming hub cities. Another issue currently, is the age 65 rule. This allows the current crop of passenger and freighter airline pilots the ability to extend their careers to age 65 if they desire. This will certainly have an effect on pilot hiring and retention, and slow down the upgrade potential for younger pilots. Not every pilot will want to fly to age 65 as other factors will come into play - medical issues, personal financial security, etc.
MANY ASPIRING pilots often ask, what’s it like to fly for a major airline? My answer won’t be simple, but it is very rewarding to be in the job I trained for, and had desire to do. Being able to settle into the cockpit of a very large jet, and fly it well is personally satisfying. It’s also very enriching to instruct new pilots to my airplane, and see them acquire the necessary skills to become safe and productive pilots, at the airline level.
IF YOUR desire is to become an airline pilot, then don’t let anything stand in your way. Pursue that goal as if it was the most important thing in your life. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve met folks in my travels, who have commented, that they had always wanted to be a pilot, but for various reasons did not pursue it, and looking back, wished they had. Make it a singular focus, and strive to complete the necessary tasks to make your goal of becoming an airline pilot happen. It truly is up to you. Financially, it is very expensive, yet there are ways to get there. It will take some creative energy on your part to figure out how to pay for the training, so that you can become that airline pilot you aspire to be.
IF YOU have any questions, I will be glad to answer them. Email me at ByronCobb@jettutor.com. Best of luck to you!!
Copyright Byron Cobb
