I recently watched an impressive group of airline industry experts discuss the future of the airline business. The group was composed of executives from major airlines, executives from the flight training industry and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The consensus is that the airline industry is an essential part of modern life, and will continue to grow into the future.
One subject that was touched on was the need for the number of pilots trained for the airline industry to increase significantly in the short term as well as into the foreseeable future and the consequences to the industry if this doesn’t happen. The fact is that both Boeing and Airbus predict a large deficit of airline pilots based on the number of aircraft that have been ordered, the number of pilots required to operate them and the present number of pilots training to fly for the airlines.
The group also discussed the new technology that is being applied to both aircraft and the tools used to train airline pilots. Lucrative careers are being offered by both parts of the airline industry, in training as well as flying the line, but the key to entering either is the same: Getting your Certificates and Ratings so you can gain the experience necessary to qualify for the positions being offered.
The New Reality of Aviation