Monday, October 31, 2011

Why have the Airlines started Hiring Pilots again?

By Steve Brennan


Over the past 10 years or so we have experienced a slump in Airlines Hiring pilots, this has been created by four vital elements and with these vanishing I predict a swing toward a major hiring boom. Some industry analysts are predicting that we are at the start of the biggest and longest pilot hiring period in history. Major airlines, corporate aviation and contract jobs for expats will be the sectors influenced most by this boom.

The first factor which will lead directly to the turnabout of an increase in Airlines hiring is the compulsory retirement age of sixty-five. A number of years ago the age was increased from sixty to sixty-five allowing pilots to continue flying for an extra five years so long as they could maintain good health. This delayed the natural attrition and reduced hiring, now however many pilots are approaching this compulsory age and will shortly retire from the industry.

In prior years older generation aircraft which aren't as complicated as the modern aircraft we see traversing our skies on an everyday basis today usually required 3 pilots in the cockpit. As these older aircraft were phased out to get replaced by aircraft requiring only two pilots there were a large amount of seats to be filled by the third pilot. Recruitment was unnecessary due to the overstock of pilots. Now that all of the slack has been taken up this is not an element anymore.

The third reason in the equation has been the astronomical cost of oil. With oil costs no longer around $150 a barrel airlines operating costs have been reduced significantly. This has permitted for expansion and consequentlyy the hiring of more pilots.

The final factor is the turnaround from the slow economic times experienced internationally during the past. With the economy improving not only in the U. S. but the majority of Asia Pacific as well the demand for air travel is increasing noticeably. All of which indicates to me that the demand for pilots will grow considerably over the next a decade.




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