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.  

CitationAir offers recall notices to all furloughed pilots

In what may be another sign of a turnaround in the business and corporate aviation world, the private jet service and fractional ownership portion of Cessna Aircraft has announced it offered recall notices pilots it had furloughed in the past. 

Per the press release, in 2009, CitationAir furloughed 85 pilots, 'in order to right-size the business and be in line with customer demand during the recession, consequently cutting the company’s pilot force down to 307.' 

Recalls had been offered to all 85 of the pilots with 53 accepting and returning to the company. After accounting declines due to other reasons such as attrition, the CitationAir pilot roster has 334 active pilots. 

“CitationAir has made strides in the past couple of years not only to survive the recession, but to grow the business afterward—a feat of which we’re very proud,” CEO Steve O’Neill said. “In doing so, CitationAir is the only company in the private jet marketplace to have offered a recall to 100 percent of its pilots after a furlough. Our ability to offer a recall to all of our furloughed pilots is just one of many examples of how much we honor our workforce, our company, and the value we’re able to provide our customers.”

In 2009, along with the furloughs, the company went under a restructuring plan and re-branding to help them weather the decline of business in the industry. The press release also stated CitationAir will announce additional expansion plans later this year. 

Want to be among the first Virgin Galactic space pilots?

Virgin Galactic, the low-earth orbit flight division of Virgin, Richard Branson's holding company that manages companies such as Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic and over 300 others, is seeking to hire it's 3 pilot's for it's space flight operations. 

Before you jump in and think you have a shot, the requirements are very specific and pretty restrictive. If you don't have a lot of large jet time, test-pilot time and an aerospace background, you're probably out of luck.  

The application closing date is April 30, 2011 so you have just under a month to apply for what is probably a dreamjob for a LOT of aviation and aerospace enthusiasts. You can find the application, information and requirements here.

From the job posting, the requirement for 'Pilot-Astronauts' are as follows: 

VG essentials for Pilot-Astronaut successful candidates

•    Must be a US citizen – compliant with ITAR (22 CFR §120.15)
•    A current FAA commercial (or equivalent) pilot license and FAA medical (you will be required to produce evidence of both at interview)
•    Degree level qualification in a relevant technical field 
•    Graduate of a recognized test pilot school, with at least 2 ½ years post-graduate flight test experience (you will be required to produce evidence at interview)
•    A diverse flying background with a minimum of 3,000 hours flying to include considerable experience of: large multi-engine aircraft and high performance fast jet aircraft and low lift-to-drag ratio glide experience (e.g. simulated flameout landings) in complex aircraft 
•    Operational experience of an aerospace aviation project or business
•    Excellent, current knowledge on a diverse range of aerospace matters
•    Ability to communicate aviation knowledge and safety related information simply, succinctly and clearly
•    Previous responsibility for authorizing and implementing policies and procedures to ensure a safe and efficient operation
•    Be a proven team player

Very limited exceptions to the above may be considered for those with truly outstanding test flying or spaceflight experience.

Preference will be given to those with experience of:
- Spaceflight
- Commercial flight operations
- Flight instruction

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! 

Cirrus aircraft soon to be owned by a Chinese company?

Cirrus put out a press release today stating they've entered into a merger agreement with  China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co. Ltd. (CAIGA). This will eventually lead to a 'purchase' of Cirrus once approved by the regulatory authorities in the US and China.  Both of the companies executives kept emphasizing the growth and expansion of Cirrus' US employee and facility base; however, if this will hold true will be seen over time. Many companies make the same claims as the jobs and production eventually move overseas.

For more on this, see my article in examiner.com. 

Feel free to comment! Just keep it civil in order to get your comment published. 

More signs of an aviation rebound? Gulfstream Aerospace this time

Gulfstream G-IV SP

Photo: By Global Jet via flickr.com

Gulfsream on Monday announced plans to expand it's facilities in Savannah over the next seven years along with hiring an additional 1,000 employees, this follows on the heels of the last $400-million expansion that was completed in 2009 along with 1,100 employees hired at that time.  This project totals $500-million.  

The project is based on Gulfstream betting on a recovery, which they feel has already begun.  Orders are at the highest level since mid-2008.  They are adding onto their engineering and tech staffs; however, also on support techs as they  are expecting increased flying time to lead to increase maintenance needs for inspections, annuals, etc.  

What's this mean for pilots?  When a company the size of Gulfstream is expecting an increase in demand for jets, increased hours those just fly, etc, it also means an increase in demand for pilots at firms and employers that utilize Gulfstream aircraft.  I wouldn't doubt that in a few months to a year or two out, we'll start to see a few more postings looking for flight deck crew members.  

It is being a little optimistic, and the pilot pool may take some time to deplete before there's a good demand; however, with the airline hiring predictions and announcements, corporate, bizav manufactures, it more and more appears that the industry is truly beginning a rebound.  Add in a decreasing pilot population, and the pilot shortage being mentioned may truly be more fact than fiction.  

See my full article on the Gulfstream expansion here. 

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.