BALPA praises Qantas A380 pilots and warns about pilot training

British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA) announced (04-Nov-2010) they praised "the professionalism of the pilots of the Qantas A380" which made an emergency landing in Singapore last week. Chairman Mark Searle stated that it is essential there continues to be "a steady stream" of new professional pilots, and warned that the industry will be "woefully short". [more]

BALPA has launched a special guide "Becoming a Pilot - The inside track". The guide is designed to address the UK's imminent shortage of airline pilots due of the "cash crisis young pilot hopefuls face". [more]

BALPA: "In the UK pilot training schools are reporting that they are 25% down in new trainee pilots in both the last two years because the enormous cost of training - GBP100,000 initially and then up to GBP35,000 for flying specific aircraft - has to be met by the new recruits. And young people and their parents today just cannot find that kind of money ... The airlines have got to pay for, or at least contribute to, the cost of training as they used to. And Government has got to stop discriminating against young students who want to be pilots. They pay nothing for their training, while they subsidise the training of architects, lawyers and others at university." Mark Searle, Chairman. Source: BALPA, 04-Nov-2010.

BALPA: "Once young people could enter the profession through airline sponsors, but now they have to fund their own initial training which can cost up to GBP100,000. Once trainees have their basic license they increasingly have to find another GBP25,000 to GBP35,000 to pay for the 'privilege' of building their experience at the controls of a big jet and get their type rating - licensed to fly a specific aircraft ... This is plain wrong. These young pilots are desperate for a job and are now being charged by airlines to fly fare paying passengers. Airlines should be ashamed." Mark Searle, Chairman. Source: BALPA, 04-Nov-2010.