Lufthansa and Chinese Airlines Announce the Need for More Pilots

Lufthansa Passenger Airlines, LH Cargo and Germanwings say they will need about 425 additional pilots in 2008 just to meet the airlines' growing demand. This includes 315 pilots for the passenger segments alone.

Currently, about 4,500 pilots fly for these three German sister carriers. Subsidiary LFT trained over 200 new pilots during the past two years, but they are still looking for an additional 200 pilots. LH doubled its request for new pilots from 120 in 2004 and 2005 to 300 in 2007.  They expect to need an additional 360 pilots by the end of 2008.

Shanghai-based Spring Airlines has indicated they will be slowing development unless they can resolve their pilot shortage. Spokesperson Zhang Lei said the airline was suffering from a pilot shortage and was therefore looking to decelerate fleet expansion.

Juneyao Airlines, also Shanghai-based, said they will hire foreign pilots to accommodate fleet expansion.

India Airlines Continue to Expand

India's Kingfisher Airlines has further expanded its route network with the additonal of four new routes. New service includes New Delhi to Lucknow, Varanasi to Khasjuraho, and New Delhi to Khajuraho and Delhi to Varanasi.  Kingfisher is now operating 218 flights each day to 37 destinations. They have a fleet of 36 new aircraft.

Kingfisher Airlines was launched in May of 2005. The airline has received 30 awards to date for innovation and customer responsiveness.

SpiceJet, also an India-based airline, has announced delivery of a new 737-900ER (extended range) aircraft. The company indicated it was purchasing five 737-900ERs plus five 737-800s at last year's Asian Aerospace Air Show in Singapore. SpiceJet is one of India's newest private carriers; they operate an all-Boeing fleet and provide service to 14 destinations with 86 daily flights.

With this growing demand India has a large need for pilots. Phoenix East Aviation, a flight school in Florida, has acknowledge this need and has created a Pilot Training Program for Students from India.

Massive Aircraft Order by China

Chinese aviation officals announced an agreement yesterday with Airbus to order 110 A320 aircraft plus 40 A330 aircraft. The massive order is valued at approximately USD$15 million. 

China Southern Airlines also signed a separate agreement with Airbus for 10 A320-200s. These announcements coincided with a meeting held this week in Beijing between French President Sarkozy and Chinese President Hu Jintao. The agreement also includes the stipulation that Chinese industry have a 5% stake in A350 airframe production. Six Chinese manufacturers already build parts for Airbus.

The 160 aircraft ordered yesterday is just another indication of the strong continued growth in commercial aviation worldwide.  Such an order as this also indicates China's confidence in the continuation of aviation growth in the long term. This large order could  top rival Boeing's 2007 orders.

Pilots in the Middle East Are Needed

Middle Eastern airlines are scrambling behind the scenes to ensure there will be enough pilots to fly all the new aircraft they are ordering. Air Arabia pilots attending a recent conference in Amman, Jordan, agreed that it was common for wealthier Middle Eastern airlines to poach pilots from their smaller rivals.

Royal Jordanian estimates that the cost of paying to obtain a CPL, plus 140 hours at Jordan Airline Training and Simulation is approximately $100,000 and takes 30 months. 

Visit Phoenix East Aviation and find out how you can achieve that rating for about half that cost.  With a 60% population of international students, we've been training pilot candidates for airlines worldwide since 1972. Our graduates are successfully flying for airlines throughout the world.

Phoenix East Aviation Flight School works with student with M-1 and J-1 Visa.

Pilot Shortage Hits US Regional Airlines Hard

Traditionally, regional commercial air carriers have been the first stop for new career pilots. However, because of the current pilot shortage, this has changed over the past year.  There are now fewer regional airline pilot applicants and attrition rates have increased. In response, these carriers are recruiting flight instructors to staff their cockpits.

This is expected to continue for a number of years, because the projected need is for 120,000 new pilots in the next 10 years. There has never been a better time to become a pilot.

And the shortage extends beyond just regional airlines. Growth outside the US, especially from Asian airlines, is placing even more pressure on the pool of licenses pilots.  According to Altean's VP Marketing, Marsha Bell, if the world fleet doubles as expected over the next 20 years, the population of pilots will have to double also.   Alteon is the training division of Boeing.

Pinnacle Airlines, a US regional carrier, experienced an attrition rate of 25% earlier this year, which means 10-20 pilots were leaving each month, for positions as pilots with other aviation companies. The result of this shortage of pilots was that Pinnacle had to reduce its flying schedule, which necessitated a $1.3 million payment to Northwest Airlines, with whom Pinnacle has a flying agreement. Pinnacle says hiring has sinced stabilized.

Republic Airlines is offering a $2,500 hiring bonus for pilots with a minimum of 1,000 hours, who are qualified on ERJ-145 or CRJ200 aircraft.

Piedmont Airlines has had similar hiring experiences. Their attrition rate is higher than past years, and they are therefore recruiting more aggressively. Piedmont says they are now hiring 25 new pilots each month.

SkyWest Airlines, as well as subsidiary Atlantic Southeast Airlines, currently has a 10% attrition rate. The carrier indicated they needed 700 pilots this year; they have already hired 400. Some regionals that formerly required pilots with 1,500 or more hours are now recruiting candidates with as little as 250 hours.

More opportunity for regional pilots is being created by US mainline carriers, such as American Airlines and United Airlines, as they growth stronger and need more pilots. And at the same time, the US regional airlines themselves are experiencing exceptionally strong growth. Between 2000 and 2006, they grrew at an average annual rate of nearly 16%, according to the FAA. The regional fleet overall also added over 500 aircraft in total to their fleets. 

In the final analysis, jobs are abundant for new career pilots. If you are considering a career as an airline pilot, there has never been a better time to start your training than now.  Contact an Admissions Officer at Phoenix East Aviation about a pilot training programs. Just think, in less time then it takes to complete community college, you could be wearing the uniform of a commercial airline pilot! 

Honda Builds Aerospace Plant in US for VLJs

The commercial and general aviation industries are watching the development of a new class of aircraft very carefully: the very light jet, or "VLJ," is anticipated to have a big, very positive impact on aviation in the next decade. 

Honda is one of the  companies developing the new VLJ aircraft. The company, in partnership with GE, has decided to build their own engines for this aircraft, and to do so in the US.  Honda Aero, Inc. will break ground tomorrow on its new corporate headquarters and state-of-the-art engine manufacturing facility in Burlington, North Carolina.

Manufactured at this plant wil be the GE-Honda HF120 turbofan engine. It will power two of Honda's VLJ models. These new aircraft, Spectrum Aero's Freedom and HondaJet, will be produced and assembled in Greensboro, North Carolina by the Honda Aircraft Company.

The new engine manufacturing facility will be 102,400 sq. ft. in size and employ 70 workers.   

Watch the news for more information on this aircraft and other VLJs.  This new class of jet aircraft is expected to present even more growth and career opportunities for current and future pilots.

How's the Pilot Salary with Regional Airlines?

Regional airlines say that a relatively low base pay for entry-level pilots can rise quickly because of growth and upward mobility. Pilots ramp up quickly from the average beginning annual salary of $20,000 in the US. Moving from the right seat to the left, from First Officer to Captain, often triggers a 33% increase in pay within a year for most regional airlines. A Pinnacle Airlines captain, for example, with several years of flying can make $80,000 or $90,000 a year.

European regional pilots entry pay is typically higher than in the US. For example, the base salary at Flybe for a Q400 first officer is comparable to $39,000 to $50,000.

Enrollment in aviation academies and university aviation programs has grown by about 25% for the past two years as would-be aviators see the extensive career opportunities in commercial aviation.

If you love flying and want to be an airline pilot. Take the first step and enroll in a flight school. Phoenix East Aviation is an accredited school with advanced simulators, a diverse fleet and an excellent staff.