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Airlines are recruiting pilots again
By Volker K. Thomalla
Anyone who finished training as a commercial pilot five or six years ago was dealt a poor hand, as those years coincided with the start of the worst crisis facing the airlines in the post-war era, during which large numbers of personnel were laid off. Some airlines like Swissair and Sabena did not even survive the crisis, propelling further qualified staff into unemployment. Suddenly unemployed pilots were in abundance everywhere. The situation has now changed. The traditional carriers survived the crisis and have returned to profit. Another factor with a positive impact on employment is the fact that the number of pilots coming up to retirement in the German airlines is increasing. Long-serving captains are retiring and making way for younger blood. At the same time the low fare airlines are booming, while Business Aviation is going from strength to strength. Never before have there been so many passenger aircraft and business jets in Europe.
These aircraft need professional pilots to fly them. Accordingly, the demand for qualified cockpit personnel is currently rising, which means that the prospects for those who are just completing their training are very encouraging. Yet it is not just Germany or Europe that needs more commercial pilots. Candidates who have a little experience and are prepared to relocate have good prospects of gaining employment with one of the up-and-coming airlines in the Gulf states or in Asia. There the airlines are desperate to get hold of new, qualified staff and are offering attractive terms as an inducement. But they expect a lot in return and have set their minimum requirements at a relatively high level.
On the other hand, the positive prospects that prevail at the moment should not deceive anyone into thinking that everything will stay hunky-dory in the employment market. Air transport is a cyclical business which is highly sensitive to external factors. The last few years are a good example of this: first we had the economic crisis in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, then came the Asian crisis and immediately after that the SARS crisis. As aviation is probably the most globalised of all industries, a crisis in one part of the world has an immediate knock-on effect on air transport globally.
The recruitment wave for cockpit personnel is currently building up. No one can say with certainty when it will reach its climax or when the trend will start moving downwards again. Anyone who finishes training at the wrong time could still have a long time to wait before taking up that seat in the cockpit.
Today cockpit vacancies are not confined to civil aviation: the Bundeswehr is still looking for helicopter pilots. It not only pays for training but can also guarantee a job which pilots will definitely not find dull even in the future.
From page 4 of FLUG REVUE 1/2007
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