What are the Pilot Career & Aviation Trends?

So you think you might want to be a pilot and fly for an airline? You probably are also interested in where the commercial aviation industry is going -- because if it's growing, you'll be more likely to get the jobs you want throughout your career. So is it growing? You bet. Plus, it is anticipated to continue very strong growth for at least another twenty years.  Here's some of those details:

Based on projections for 726 airports around the world, the trends in both international and US domestic travel demand are once again firmly upwards with growth of 5% expected in this month alone.

In April to June of 2006, world passenger numbers are expected to advance by 5.2%, with the faster growth likely to b e demonstated in the international sector -- a year over year increase of 6.9%. A trend through the first three months of this year could well push annual international passenger growth toward the 7% mark.

Australia's Liberal Approach to Commercial Aviation

A move into the Australian domestic market by Singaporean budget carrier, Tiger Airways, is an ambitious one. This move highlights Australia's liberal approach to commercial aviation, since Tiger's operations will be 100% foreign-owned.

While the US restricts foreign stakes in domestic airlines to 25%, and other countries generally limit foreign ownership to 49%, Australia imposes no such restrictions (except for a rule that foreign investment in any industry must not breach national interest).

Last month Australia also approved the entry of UAR airline Etihad into Australia's already heavily contested international market.

More New Aircraft Orders Announced

Airlines buy new aircraft to A.) upgrade their fleet and/or to B.) meet the demands of growth. And when airlines are growing, they always need more pilots.  So who's placing orders this month?

Bombardier announced an order for 30 CRJ900 regional jets from Delta. The 90-passenger aircraft are valued at over USD $1 billion. In addition, Delta took options on an additional 30 CRJs.

Ryanair is in the process of taking delivery of 10 new aircraft, worth USD $700 million. The aircraft will result in 50 new routes throughout Europe and will create 5,000 NEW JOBS.

Azerbaijan Airlines has signed an order for three 787-8 Dreamliners and two 737-900ERs from Boeing. Azerbaijan Airlines is based in Baku, Azerbaijan. The order is valued at USD $609 million. This will allow the airline to enter the long-haul market. The 787 Dreamliner is the world's newest commercial aircraft and uses 20% less fuel than today's airplanes of comparable size. It also provides nearly 45 percent more cargo capacity.

Royal Jordanian Airlines, Jordan's state airline, has announced it will finalize a deal to buy eight Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Delivery is to begin in 2010. This deal is valued at approximately USD $1 billlion. Royal Jordanian Airlines is expanding its fleet from 24 to 35 aircraft. They purchased seven Embraer 195 jets last year to serve regional destinations in the Middle East -- and five more will be delivered this year.

Comair Ltd., British Airways' franchise operator in South Africa is expected to purchase six Boeing 737 aircraft this year, a sale valued at USD $76 million. South Africa's rapid economic expansion is fueling air travel demand. British Airways, Europe's third-largest airline, owns 13 percent of Comair.

Air New Zealand has ordered four more 787-9 Dreamliners. This is the airline's third order for the 787. They have now ordered a total of eight. The value of this latest order is USD $700 million.

British Airways has placed an oder for four Boeing 777-200ERs. They also have options on four additional aircraft. More orders from British Airways are expected in the next few months as part of its fleet renewal project. In a separate deal BA converted options for four Airbus A320s into firm orders.

The Dubai-based airline, Emirates, has signed a contract to lease five Boeing 777-300ERs. The CEO for the airline said it was no secreet that Emirates has mapped an ambitious growth plan for the next 10 years. Emirates has a fleet of 101 Boeing and Aircraft craft.

Pinnacle has ordered 15 Bombardier Q400 aircraft for its newly acquired subsidiary, Colgan Airlines. The agreement is contingent on the carrier receiving financing from Bombardier.

   

US Regional Airlines Continue to Expand

America's regional airlines have increased dramatically.  Passenger counts have grown at  double-digit rates the past several years. At the same time these aggressive airlines are investing heavily in new, state-of-the-art equipment, aircraft and facilities -- AND new pilots.

According to the Regional Airline Association's President, Roger Cohen, in a recent letter to the Wall Street Journal, "regional airlines provide the only scheduled flights to nearly 500 US communities, representing more than 70% of the airports with any scheduled service."

In the 3rd quarter of 2006, the most recent figures available, US regional airline passenger enplanements were up 3.7%, compared to the same period in 2005, despite the cessation of Independence Air, which accounted for more than one million regional passengers in 2005.

SkyWest Airlines, operating as Delta Connection and United Express, American Eagle Airlines and ExpressJet, operating as Continental Express, were ranked as the three largest regionals for the period from July through September of last year. The top 20 regional airlines transported 95.9 percent of the industry's passengers and flew over 98% of the industry's revenue passenger miles.

Phoenix East Aviation graduates are favored by many regional airlines. If you are considering a flight school and becoming an airline pilot, ask one of our Admissions Officers how many recent graduates are now flying for various regional airlines.  The figure is impressive -- as is the quality of the flight training you will receive at Phoenix East.

Over 3 BILLION Seats on 28 Million Flights

If you like statistics and aircraft, you'll love these.......

OAG, the global travel information company, has announced that the world's scheduled airlines offered a record 3.3 billion seats (actual count is 3,297,362,597, in case you're counting) during 2006. That represents an average daily offer of over 9 million seats on 77,371 individual daily flights.

Total seat offer was up 3.4% from the 3.2 billion seats (actually 3,187,855,301) offered on 27.7 million flights 2006 vs 2005.

The longest scheduled route flown in 2006 was between Newark, New Jersey, US (EWR) and Singapore (SIN), with an elapsed time of 18 hours and 40 minutes. Singapore Airlines operates this flight, which cover 9,523 miles (8,275 nautical miles; 15,325kms).

The shortest scheduled route flown in 2006 was between Papa Westray (PPW) and Westay (WRY) in the United Kingdom, with an elapsed time of two minutes. The flight is operated by Loganair using a British Norman Islander aircraft to cover just 9 miles (8 nautical miles; 14 kms).

Low cost carriers offered a total of 549,078,161 seats in 2006 on 3,815,204 flights worldwide. Within the US, the capacity share of the low cost carriers was 27%, slightly more than Europe, where it was 24%.