Month: February 2014

Success Story: From Student to Instructor to First Officer

While here at ATP I get the chance to meet a lot of very interesting people who come to ATP with only their ambitions and the willingness to work hard to get where they want to go. With those tools they are molded into student-pilots and then into professional aviators who in a relatively short time will join the Airline Industry as talented First Officers. These men and women move on to very successful careers in aviation, and at times they get a chance to look back and share with us how they achieved their career goals. Justin Kaiser is one such pilot that I have been fortunate enough to meet and know and help in some small way, and I want to share his experiences with you:
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World needs pilots! Record Growth Leads to Record Need.

CNN is airing a report today on the pilot shortage which is affecting the Global Airline Industry. Since the expansion of the airline industry across the globe has strongly affected the industry in the United States and ATP is at the forefront in providing solutions for the industry in the United States I thought I would share some of the article here:

A 35% increase in demand for air travel. A tripling of the region’s airplane fleet and up to nearly 13,000 new planes needed.

Predictions for growth in the aviation industry over the next two decades are impressive. But one question keeps recurring in the region and, indeed, around the globe. Will there be enough pilots to fly the new planes and enough technicians to maintain them?

“Even if we set up 100 airplane flying schools tomorrow, it still wouldn’t be enough,” says Bony Sharma, vice president of Mil-Com Aerospace Group, a Singapore-based aviation training company, “The shortage is that extreme.”

Half a million pilots needed globally

Released in August 2013, the Boeing Pilot and Technical Market Outlook for 2013-2032 forecasts nearly half a million new commercial airline pilots will be needed to fly all the new airplanes entering the world fleet over the next 20 years.

Boeing’s Randy Tinseth commented, “The market’s going to double over the next 15 to 20 years, but remember it doubled over the last 15 to 20 years that we’ve just come through,” he says. “It’s something we can manage through, but we have to get out ahead of it.”

General Aviation Aircraft Shipments Took Off in 2013

Prospects are finally looking up for pilots aspiring to fly in Corporate Aviation, or in other well paying segments of General Aviation. Here at ATP we have experienced high attrition rates among our Instructors who have been leaving our ranks early, well below the 1500 hours of experience required to fly for the airlines, to fly for a Corporate Flight Department or one of the other exciting flying jobs available outside of the Airline Industry.
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Republic Airways Reaches Tentative Agreement with Its Pilot Union

Republic Airways Holdings, which owns and operates Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America, announced today that it has reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) on a new four-year contract with the union that represents more than 2,200 pilots who fly for them.

The proposed contract includes increases in pay that will place Republic pilots at or near the top of its airline peers. It also includes improvements in work rules, quality of life enhancements and more flexibility in scheduling as well as a significant signing bonus if ratified. The TA still must be presented to union members for review and a formal ratification vote, which is expected in March.

“We are extremely pleased that we have, at long last, reached a new working agreement that recognizes the significant contributions our pilots make to our continued success. Every day, our flight crews deliver on Republic’s brand promise of providing the safest and most reliable flight service for our major airline partners,” said Republic Airways Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Wayne Heller. “This TA has the economics that make it possible for the Company to provide our pilots with an industry-leading working agreement, while at the same time allowing Republic to remain competitive as we pursue new business opportunities.”

Captain David Bourne, Director of IBT’s Airline Division, commented, “This agreement reflects a hard-earned and well deserved achievement for the enhancement of pay and work conditions for the Republic pilot group.”

“At a time when many of our competitors are moving in the opposite direction on pilot compensation, we are thrilled that Republic is able to significantly improve the wages and benefits of the more than 2,200 women and men who safely fly more than 1,300 daily scheduled flights for our major airline partners,” said Bryan Bedford, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Republic Airways. “In August of this year, we will celebrate 40 years of commercial flight. So it is especially gratifying at this important milestone that we can recognize and thank our pilots for their contribution in maintaining our perfect passenger safety record for four decades.”

This agreement, if ratified by Republic’s pilots, will smooth the way for Republic to compete for a bigger share of the available flying from the Major Airlines. To accommodate this growth Republic has entered into one of the most advanced Pilot Pipeline Agreements available with ATP. Anyone training with ATP will be interviewed early in their flight training career and offered a Conditional Offer of Employment with Republic if successful. This agreement offers a direct path from the beginning of flight training to the cockpit seat of an airliner for anyone interested in becoming an Airline Pilot.

When you become an Airline Pilot seniority will govern significant parts of your flying career. Getting your flying job ahead of your competition means better schedules, pay and assignment to bigger higher-paying aircraft. Get there first by flight training with ATP.

Airline-Pilot Shortage Arrives Ahead of Schedule

The Wall Street Journal contains an insightful article about the shortage of Airline Pilots that is beginning to severely handicap the airline industry. The article is sub-titled “Pilot Retirements and New Rules on Training and Rest Hurt More Than Expected”, and when I read it I was happy to see that the national media is calling the nation’s attention to this serious issue that we have been writing about here for the last three years.
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American Airlines Group Announces Profit of $1.9 billion in 2013

The Airlines of the United States continue to grow and report huge profits, which fuels further growth and increasing prospects for great flying jobs. Most recently, the parent company of merged partners American Airlines and US Airways, American Airlines Group, reported a 2013 net profit of $1.9 billion on an adjusted basis that combines the full-year results of American and US Airways.
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