The job of a commercial pilot holds a great deal of appeal for would-be aviators, but the high costs of training can deter many potential candidates. Working Week examines some of the funding options available in the UK
Recent growth among budget airlines has seen the number of flights from the UK's regional airports rapidly expand. According to figures released by the British Air Transport Association, the number of domestic and international flights departing the UK has grown by more than 20% over the past three years.
These figures, coupled with an increasing demand for business jet charters, have resulted in a dearth of qualified pilots. But how do today's students meet their training costs? Can you approach a high street bank for career development funding or are there other methods of raising the necessary finances?
Most major UK high street banks approach the subject of pilot training on a case-by-case basis. According to Andrew Bond of Barclays, banks will always be willing to listen to funding applications from potential pilots about to embark on an Airline Preparation Programme First Officer (APPFO) training course. "While we do offer career development loans for a number of vocations, pilot training, due to the high associated costs, is not specifically covered. Instead, we would invite applicants to talk to us on an individual basis."
Today's student commercial pilots can expect to pay between £50,000 ($100,000) and £60,000 for a European Joint Aviation Authorities-approved APPFO course, depending on where they complete their training. The difficulty in approaching high street banks is the lack of guaranteed employment once qualified. This has led to fierce competition for the limited number of sponsored training schemes.
One of the UK's premium flight training schools, Oxford Aviation Training, has developed close relationships throughout the industry, most recently with NetJets Europe. This new partnership, designed to supply the business jet operator with up to 48 new first officers each year, reflects an increasing awareness throughout the industry of the need to plan further ahead.
"We operate three significant sponsored schemes," says Mike Langley, director of commercial and employment services with Oxford Aviation. "In addition to our NetJets scheme we have tie-ins with Thomas Cook and Excel, which combined account for about 60 students from our annual APPFO intake of 270."
More than 50% of Oxford's student intake remains self-funding. "Even on airline 'sponsored' courses, the students actually pay for their own training initially," adds Langley. "But they gain additional loan benefits through an enhanced HSBC Bank/Oxford Aviation bespoke loan scheme, available to all APPFO students."
And after 67 weeks of intensive training, the employment prospects for newly qualified, but low hours, first officers are very encouraging.
"For newly qualified first officers willing to travel the opportunities are considerable, especially in the Middle East, India and Asia. It's an excellent time to consider training," says Langley.
With demand for highly trained students beginning to exceed supply, initiatives such as the recent NetJets Europe scheme not only begin to address this shortfall, but provide potential students with the level of security they require before incurring training expenses.
"Airlines need to consider pilot recruitment as part of their strategic planning, just as they do for aircraft acquisition," says Langley. "The current ad-hoc approach isn't going to work in the future."
flight.workingweek@flightglobal.com
Source: Flight International
