The Aspiring Pilot

British Airways to hire 800 pilots over 4 years

In what BA is calling their largest pilot recruitment drive in over a decade, today they announced plans to hire 800 new pilots by 2016 due to the addition of a large quantity of Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Airbus A380's to their fleet. The drive will be compromised of three seperate recruitment programs. 

The first is a path for military pilots. Military pilots can advance through their service with the end goal of working for the commercial aviation industry. Upon completion of their required service, they would then have the chance to work at British Airways. 

The second recruitment program is for current airline pilots to move from their current employement over to British Airways. 

Finally, the third, and probably most important to prospective pilots that are just looking to get into the aviation world is their training program. British Airways has stated that they know that one of the biggest detractors that is keeping people from pursuing a career as an airline pilot is the price tag that can be well in excess of $100,000.  As a result, British Airways will SEND aspiring pilots through training. 

British Airways 'Future Pilot Programme' will place 400 selectees at an approved flight training school and succesful candidates will have a job as a British Airways pilot.  The director of pilot recruitment at British Airways, Captain Robin Glover, stated that 'the Future Pilot Programme is a fantastic opportunity for anyone, from any background to realise their ambition of becoming a pilot and flying for British Airways. By removing the barrier of initial training costs and making it more accessible to a wider range of people, we hope to be able to attract the very best talent out there. It is a really exciting time to join British Airways as we are giving our customers even more choice by adding new destinations to our network and introducing new aircraft to our fleet. No other airline in the UK offers the opportunities that British Airways does for developing a career as a pilot.'

Successful trainees will attend one of three world-class flight training colleges in the UK and Spain, with the initial training fees covered by sponsor company, Airline Placement Limited (APL), with British Airways acting as guarantor.

 

United recalling about 10-15% of it's furloughed pilots.

United announced today that it will be recalling 100-200 of it's pilots that are on furlough over the next year. They currently have around 1,400 pilots on furlough and expect to make the recall offer shortly.  The recalled pilots will actually be flying for Continental as the two airlines continue to merge their operations. 

It's only a small percent of the 1,400 still sitting our at United, but it's finally a start in the right direction. Other airlines such as Delta and American had already been recalling their pilots and have many less left on furlougs.

Hopefully this is a trend that will continue and I'm sure this will be welcome news for the pilots of United that have been furloughed for such a long time already.  

Wanna get away?! Southwest Airlines opens First Officer Appplication

You can now apply for a F/O position with Southwest Airlines. See my prior post here about the rumor the pilot application site was about to be reopened.  The message is now down and the job is listed in the 'Job Listings' at SWA.  

If you qualify and plan to apply, good luck! Not sure on their hiring plans at the moment, but good to see the site back up and that they are at least accepting applications again! 

Hopefully this may translate into some movement within the airline industry as experienced pilots with other airlines and regionals move around and open positions there.  Is it a sign of a turnaround in the pilot career field? Time will tell.

If you have any more information on hiring plans, etc. please comment!  

Is Southwest Airlines about to re-open pilot application website?

Currently, if you navigate to the pilot employment information section of Southwest, you see the following note: 

Please Note:

Because we are not currently hiring pilots, we have taken down the pilot application site and you will no longer be required to update your information. Once we begin hiring again, we will put the application back up. At that time, you will be able to apply again and update your current information.

However, per a twitter post today, it looks like that may change soon for a two week period or so. According to @SWAPAExecs (the twitter account of 'The executive officers of the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association') 'SWA online pilot application opening MAR 7th for a limited time only (2 weeks or less)! Pls pass along to fellow pilots who are interested.' 

So, keep an eye on SWA and they're twitter feeds. When they opened their flight attendant application, the site was so overwhelmed, it crashed under the load. I can't imagine the pilot application will be any less popular. 

For those that aren't aware, here's their requirements as listed on their site.  

Southwest Airlines Pilot Application Requirements:

• Certificates/Ratings: U.S. FAA Airline Transport Pilot Certificate. Unrestricted¹ U.S. Type Rating on a B-737 not required for interview, but required for employment².
• Age: Must be at least 23 years of age.
• Flight Experience: 2,500 hours total or 1,500 hours TURBINE total. Additionally, a minimum of 1,000 hours in Turbine aircraft as the Pilot in command³ (as defined below) is required. Southwest considers only Pilot time in fixed-wing aircraft. This specifically excludes simulator, helicopter, WSO, RIO, FE, NAV, EWO, etc. NO other time is counted.³
• Currency: A minimum of 200 hours must be logged in the preceding 36 months.
• Medical: Must possess a current FAA Class 1 Medical Certificate. Must pass FAA mandated Drug Test.
• Authorization to work in the United States: Must have established authorization to work in the United States.
• Driver's License: Must possess a valid United States Driver's License.
• Education: graduation from accredited, four-year college preferred.
• Letters of Recommendation: At least three letters from any individuals who can attest to the pilot's flying skills, by having observed him/her over a sustained period of time.

Pilot base locations: Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Orlando, Chicago, Baltimore, Oakland, and Las Vegas

 

So, if you're going to try your hand and apply and meet the requirements, good luck! 

Mesa Air Group emerges from bankruptcy

Just in time for what appears to be a run on the record level fuel prices again, Mesa Air Group has announced it is emerging from Chapter 11 bankrupcty protection. They entered chapter 11 proceedings approximately 14 months ago. 

The airline emerged slimmer and in hopefully better financial position to deal with the coming high fuel costs. Unfortunately, it's also emerging at a time when airlines are looking to trim their regional fleets and options as well. 

Mesa is down to about 75 airplanes in service, about 100 airplanes less then it had prior to its Chapter 11 filing. It is retaining its larger regional jets, with 70 and 86 seat configurations and plans to operate about 450  daily flights to 94 destinations under their contract with US Airways and United Airlines. 

The airline's elimination of nearly 100 excess aircraft and their associated leases removed about $700 million in capitalized leases and $50 million in debt from it's balance sheets per the press release. 

The company is emerging as a private company (not publicly traded on the stock markets as before.) 

In the press release, Mesa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Ornstein stated that 'Today marks a new beginning for Mesa, one that allows the company to build on its almost 30 year history and reestablish ourselves as one of the world’s leading regional airlines. We are deeply appreciative of the support we have received during our reorganization from our creditors, airline partners and employees, and we will work hard to repay this trust by building a successful Mesa Air Group.'

He continued on, saying 'Upon our exit from bankruptcy, we will take the intensity and effort of the past 13 months and transfer it from the triage of the bankruptcy process to focus on opportunities that exist in our rapidly changing industry. Throughout our bankruptcy the Company’s operations remained at the highest level of reliability and safety. Our people did a fantastic job and nothing reflects their competitive spirit better than the fact that during our bankruptcy Mesa consistently delivered operational performance which continues to lead the regional airline industry in nearly every category monitored by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation. 

This strong operational performance came during a time when many of our employees contributed to our financial savings by taking additional unpaid days off. This level of dedication and the resulting operational performance has provided a solid foundation upon which to return our airline to sustained profitability and future growth. In addition, through the restructuring process Mesa is among the first regional airlines to address the risks associated with fifty-seat regional jet aircraft which have increasingly fallen out of favor with mainline carriers. We believe the elimination of exposure related to this fleet provides Mesa with a significant competitive advantage.”

How succesful Mesa will be going forward in what appears to be a building challenging environment will take time to see.  

US Airways hiring back pilots and flight attendants

On Monday, US Airways stated it would hire 420 flight attendants and 80 pilots back off furlough.  This would exhaust the list of furloughed flight attendants and decrease the pilots left on furlough with US Airways from 180 to 100. 

The airline expects to have the FA's and pilots back in the air by June of 2011.  The recalls and new hires are being used to fill open positions from planned retirements and attrition.  

This comes a month after Delta announced the recall and hiring of 1,000 flight attendants, recalling all 425 of their FA's that were on furlough. 

Honeywell releases biz-jet forecast - recovery coming, but year later

Photo of the Gulfstream G-IV SP prior to it's first flight.

Photo: By Global Jet via flickr.com

 

Just published an article at General Aviation Examiner on Honeywells 19th edition of it's annual Business Aviation Outlook.  They initially were looking at a biz-jet recovery to begin in 2011, but based on updated survey results, feel that the recovery will be delayed until 2012; however, they are still expecting a decent 10 year period from 2010-2020 with over 11,000 jet's delivered at a value of over $225 billion.  

For the full article, please go here.  

This is a promising sign, especially since it was followed up by the surprise NetJets announcement of a purchase agreement for 125 Phenom 300 jets, adding some support to the belief of the beginning of a business aviation recovery.   What this will mean for pilot hiring is still unknown; however, with the pilot population declining and aging and an expected 11,000 business jets expected to be added (or replace some older jets)  in the next 10 years, there should be an increase in pilot demand.  How much will need to be seen, but it's some additional hope for those with flight aspirations.  

US Airways 3Q results, announces hiring plans

By cliff1066™Cliff  via flickr.com

The light at the end of the tunnel for the aviation industry is slowly beginning to get brighter.  Each new report, each airline update, profits are returning, people are flying more, hiring is picking up.  We're still a ways away from a complete turnaround as there are still furlough lists to be exhausted.  With Delta hiring back all of it's furloughed flight attendants (or at least those accepting the recall) and American recalling all it's furloughed pilots over roughly the next 12 months, it was only a matter of time before other airlines made similar announcements. 

US Airways today announced earnings today, leading with a company record 3Q net profit of $240 million.  Wall street was expecting $1.17 per share in earnings (EPS) and US Airways came back with $1.22.  A $0.05 beat is pretty impressive.  

As a result, US Airways has announced it will recall ALL furlough FA's by years end and begin hiring new FA's in the beginning of 2011.  In addition, for the pilot's among us, they also announced plans to recall 300 furloughed pilots.  

Overall, this is a great turnaround from the loss of $80 million the company reports in the 3Q 2009.   

As these reports come in and I review other airlines earnings today, I'll post any additional impressive numbers or hiring increases that may be announced.  

Ryanair's one pilot idea? Captain dies on Qatar airways flight...

Remember a few weeks ago, my article on Ryanair and all their cost cutting?  Well, one of Mr O'Leary's ideas was to get rid of the first officer (co-pilot) and train flight attendants to assist in case of an emergency.  I wonder how his plan would have worked out in this case.  In the modern world of locked cockpits, extra security, how would the trained flight attendant get into the cockpit to be able to save the Qatar flight yesterday?  While on a flight from Manila in the Philippines to Doha, Qatar, the captain of the plane collapsed while flying and died.  The plane successfully diverted to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and a new crew came aboard and completed the flight. 

Now, imagine the captain having been the only one in the plane.  He collapses and dies prior to activating autopilot, or with the AP on and he falls on the control column.  This tragic death of the captain helps to enforce the need for two pilots in the cockpit of modern airliners, even with all the automation, there is still a need for two pilots.  

RIP to the Qatar captain.  

American recalling pilots and FA's off furlough

According to a CNNMoney article, American Airlines is sending recall notices to 250 pilots and 545 flight attendants.    The recall for the pilots at least will be in stages, with 25 by mid-November and approximately 30 a month after that.  The first 225 flight attendants should be receiving a recall notice this month.  

According to the article,  'the recalls result from a recently-formed joint partnership with British Airways and the Spanish airline Iberia. Also, the airline said it has a pending deal with Japan Airlines. The airline said that several new routes are opening up in April, including a London to San Diego route operated with British Airways and a Madrid to Los Angeles route operated with Iberia.'

With this continuing increase in international traffic, and hopefully, more recalls as a result of any deals with Japan airlines, the pilot career path is becoming a little brighter.  There are still thousands of pilots on furlough across the entire industry, but the constant chipping away with recalls by airlines being announced every few weeks is helping to make the future look less bleak for current pilots as well as aspiring pilots.