AVIATION CAREER UPDATE – June 12, 2008

By Gene Benson

How quickly things change! When I last updated this page three months ago the domestic airlines, especially the regional carriers, were hiring aggressively. Huge increases in the cost of fuel has put a damper on that activity. There is still hiring going on, but it has been greatly reduced. A look down the road doesn't produce a warm fuzzy feeling. Several major carriers have announced reductions in capacity by this fall. That simply means fewer airplanes in the air. Fewer big airplanes means fewer big airplane crews. Some of the furloughed pilots will take a step back and fly for regional carriers further reducing new pilot hiring. But wait. Fewer big airplanes means that there will be less of a need for regional airplanes to feed passengers into the hubs. This is starting to look pretty ugly for employment as an airline pilot.

But don't pack it all in yet and start selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door. First, as I have said before in this space, if you don't like what's happening in aviation, just wait a couple of months and it will all change. (Of course, the opposite is also true.) Second, nobody said that the airline industry is the only game in town. Business aviation is the shining star of aviation employment right now. The manufacturers of biz jets can't keep up with the demand for more airplanes. For this they can largely thank TSA with a nod toward blunders by airline management and our bureaucratic friends at FAA. Anyway, business aviation will need more pilots in the near future. Sure, some furloughed airline pilots will fill some of those seats, but probably not very many. The corporations are not likely to invest the large sum of money required to train the airline pilot in the type of airplane they fly knowing that he or she will be gone as soon as the airline starts calling pilots back.

Business aviation has historically hired new pilots with varied experience backgrounds. Do like I always advise. Get good quality training and learn all you can, not just enough to pass the checkrides.

There is one additional suggestion for anyone pursuing a business aviation career. Consider becoming an aviation maintenance technician. The AMT has a distinct advantage when applying for pilot employment in the world of business aviation. In the grand scheme of higher education, this training is of fairly short duration and it provides a back-up in the event of a medical problem resulting in the loss of the FAA Medical Certificate. Pilots are required to have a medical certificate, but technicians aren't.

If you would like to discuss your career goals and possible ways to reach them, please contact me at gene@genebenson.com or click here for a handy, secure comment/inquiry form. If you would just like to chat, call me at 585-392-3068. I do not charge for career advice or for answering a few questions. I do also offer a fee-based training or career mentoring service.

If you are not a rated pilot yet, advice that will always stand is to choose the flight training program wisely. Click here to read the first part of a four-part article on choosing flight training.

Check back often, I'll update this feature as necessary.

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