Month: December 2008

Airline Pilot: A Career with a Bevy of Options

A very wise person sent me this article from US News & World Report and it spoke optimistically about job prospects for Airline Pilots stretching into the year 2016. The article leans heavily on data from a detailed report from the US Department of Labor and the Bureau of labor Statistics , and states that “Employment of aircraft pilots and flight engineers is projected to grow 13 percent from 2006 to 2016, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

Both articles are filled with a lot of information about the Airline Pilot profession and make for informative reading for anyone thinking about pursuing a career as an Airline Pilot.

Where’s the Puck? Hiring Trends in a Rough-and-Tumble Economy

Recently while flipping through my newly arrived January issue of Flight Training Magazine, I came across an article that reinforced what airline experts have been saying a lot lately. If you want to be an Airline Pilot it is very important to begin to train now, while the Airlines are in a cyclical downturn in hiring.

Wayne Phillips, the author of the article, uses a Hockey analogy to perfectly illustrate his point. When thinking about the future, consider the puck. When hockey powerhouse Wayne Gretzky was asked why he was so successful, he replied, “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.”

In other words, don’t worry about hiring in the airline industry right now because historically it is always changing. Anticipate where the airline industry is going to be a year from now and be prepared to meet it there. The time to acquire high-quality airline-specific flight training and flight experience is right now. That “hiring puck” will be coming back into play soon and you should be ready.

Major Airlines Are Set To Make A Profit – A Pilot Shortage Is Not Far Away

In June of 2008 the price of a barrel of oil began to climb inexplicably from the price range it had occupied for years to over $145 per barrel in July. Airlines in turn accelerated plans to park antiquated fuel-guzzling airplanes such as the MD-88, older 737s and even 747s, and looked for other ways to cut costs.

While their cost-cutting plans were being put into place, the price of oil was already coming back down. Airlines have had to take hits for late ill-timed attempts at fuel hedging, but most of that was in the 3rd quarter, clearing the way for fourth quarter profitability and clearer sailing in 2009.

Airlines will continue to charge the extra fees (Checked-bag fees, Aisle Seat Fees, etc.) put in place during the tough times. These fees, which once barely offset the extreme fuel prices, are now hugely profitable. As oil prices continue to decline and the economy returns to life, the profit margins of the major airlines will continue to grow.

Over the next year Airlines will start expanding again for competitive reasons and when that happens they will try to go after some of the smaller markets abandoned in 2008, but will avoid the same mistakes made in the past when gas guzzlers were placed on those routes. The Major Airlines will assign that flying to their Regional Airline partners who will fly to those smaller cities in fuel-efficient New Generation Regional Jets such as the CRJ-700/900 and CRJ-1000, or the EMB-175 or EMB-195.

At that time, there is sure to be a severe pilot shortage and the demand for pilots will be very high due to:

  • Major Airlines who will begin to hire pilots from the ranks of Regional Airlines as they expand.
  • Presently furloughed pilots being hired for lucrative jobs overseas in emerging airline markets in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific Rim.
  • An extreme shortage of students presently training for airline pilot positions.

Forward looking aviators who begin to train now will be in great demand when they are ready to join the ranks of the airline pilots who are now flying for Airlines that have emerged from these recent tough times.

A Typical Day for a New Airline Pilot

I hear this question a lot: What will a typical day be like when I’m an airline pilot?

Most of your days as an airline pilot will be typical – which is a good thing. In all professions, a routine is the key to success. Flying halfway across the country at 30,000 feet is no different. Well, maybe it’s a little different.

Check In:
You’ll arrive at the airport at least an hour before your first flight. The first thing that you will want to do is get checked in with your airline. Usually, you’ll just need to log in on the computer, but it’s important to do. Delays along the lines of hours have happened simply because a pilot forgot to check in.

Weather Briefing, Clearance, Passenger and Cargo Manifest:
You need to print out a weather briefing for the whole day, as well as a more detailed report for the first flight. You’ll also download all other information that you and the crew will use, such as a clearance (permission to fly a certain route to your destination) and information about how your aircraft will be loaded with passengers, cargo and fuel.

Captain’s Briefing:
The Captain will want to brief you about the aircraft, and your itinerary.He’ll go over, among other things,

  • details about the first flight
  • weather that you will face en route
  • special passenger needs
  • and special cargo.

Prepping the Aircraft:
After speaking with the Captain, you’ll head out to the ramp to board the aircraft. You’re the first crew member on board. Drop off your equipment in the cockpit, plug in your headphones, turn on the interior aircraft lights. The flight attendants will start to prep the cabin. You’ll inspect the outside of the aircraft to make sure it is safe to fly for the day.

Preflight Walk-around:
Your preflight inspection will take you around the aircraft. Use your checklist, and if you find anything unusual you’ll notify the Captain or call a company mechanic.

More Systems and Checklists:
After you are done with the “walk-around” you will go back into the cockpit. You’ll help the Captain check all of the internal systems and go through several more checklists. Once everything is checked out, you’ll have the gate agents begin to load the passengers onto the aircraft.

Almost Ready to Go:
Once the passengers have all found their seats, the you will go through some more checklists. The aircraft’s doors will be closed, and you’ll start the engines. Another checklist or two have to be done as you taxi out to the runway for take-off.

In the Sky at over 300 knots:
You and the Captain will take turns flying each leg of the trip. When the Captain is flying the aircraft, you will talk to Air Traffic Control (ATC) on the radios, help with the navigation of the aircraft, perform in-flight checklists and perform other necessary duties.

Landing:
As you get close to your destination, you will help the Captain get the aircraft ready to perform an approach into the airport and land safely. After landing, you will talk to ATC ground controllers and taxi to your new gate to drop off the passengers. Once the passengers are all safely off of the aircraft, you will get off also and take a break while the aircraft is cleaned, restocked with food and drink, and refueled.

The Day Continues…
Then you will do it all over again! A typical day will have 3 or more legs to be flown in it, and then you will go to a hotel where you will overnight to eat and rest up for the next day’s activities. The next day, you’re headed to new cities in different weather and with new challenges. No two days are alike! Even though there is a routine, each day is filled with experiences that you can only enjoy as an airline pilot.

The “Nobody is Hiring” Myth

If you’ve recently visited an airline career forum on the internet, you’ve probably been bombarded with the same bit of advice repeatedly: “Nobody is hiring pilots right now, so don’t even try to get a job as an airline pilot.” Information like this is frequently spread on the internet by anonymous individuals who have very little first-hand knowledge of airline hiring or career advancement.

A person who has recently been hired in the industry sees this claim, thinks it makes sense and then parrots it, spreading it to a new audience. Soon, everyone is jumping on the “Nobody is Hiring” bandwagon. Unfortunately, these forums are what you come across when you are thinking about a career in aviation and are looking for information. But let me ask what may seem like an obvious question. Should ANYONE make life-altering decisions based on this sort of shortsighted advice?

As someone who has been in the airline business for a long time, I can share some lessons learned from real experience. If you were to place Airline Pilot Hiring on a graph, it would look like a sound wave. It is always moving up or moving down but it is never moving on a flat line.

If you get hired by an airline at the peak of the hiring wave there won’t be many people who hold seniority numbers lower than yours.

This means that you:

  • Will not get the most desirable schedules each month when they are bid on.
  • Will lose out to more senior pilots when bidding for the crew base you want.
  • Will lose out to senior pilots when bidding for vacation schedules you want.
  • Will probably sit on reserve for a long time.
  • Will face a furlough each time the cycle takes a downturn.

These are only a few of the problems associated with being junior, and they won’t go away until more pilots are hired who will then be junior to you. This won’t happen quickly if you are hired at the peak of the hiring wave.

If you are hired at the bottom of the wave on the other hand, when all the guys are posting on your favorite forum that “nobody is hiring”, then you:

  • Will greatly reduce your chances of ever being furloughed.
  • Will not live life on perpetual reserve.
  • Will shorten the time waiting for the crew base you want.
  • Will reduce the time waiting for good schedules.
  • Will soon have the vacation slots you want.

This was the case for me. A long time ago I had sold a fairly lucrative business and had to switch careers due to a very tightly worded non-compete agreement. My father, who was a pilot at the time, asked me why I didn’t go into aviation since I had always dreamed about it. My response was that “no airlines are hiring”. He then told me about the cyclical nature of the airline business and how to take advantage of it. He told me that then was the perfect time to begin training for an airline job and that if I got busy with it, I would be ready when the next upswing in hiring came along. It seemed counterintuitive at the time because I didn’t have enough experience to see that there were cycles to airline hiring, but I was getting this advice from someone who knew what he was talking about.

I took the proceeds from the sale of my company and started training. Within a year I had earned my Private, Instrument, Multi, Commercial Multi and had become a CFI. It proved to be a formula for success. I was only an instructor for 6 months before I got my first job flying tourists from Las Vegas up to see the Grand Canyon. I was then offered a job flying for a Continental Connection carrier who flew skiers from Denver to Ski Areas in Colorado. Shortly thereafter I was hired by a large Part 121 operation. After training, I was on reserve for a total of 3 weeks before being transferred to the crew base I desired in Florida. Once there, I was also awarded a “hard line” and was no longer on reserve. Life was good, and that was only the beginning.

During my entire career in aviation I have led a charmed life. I was never furloughed and had quickly gotten a great crew-base and a schedule with a lot of time off. I attribute all of this to getting hired at a time when “nobody was hiring”.