The commercial pilot training environment

The traditional sponsored European pilot training programmes have all but disappeared. The airlines have largely released themselves from the burden of pre employment training costs leaving the potential pilots with the task of covering the costs to frozen ATPL of up to GBP70,000

Sure the UK situation is not aided by political positioning where VAT is levied against training costs leaving UK schools at a disadvantage compared with other more accommodating Euro governments.Thus UK training industry whilst arguably providing some of the highest levels of competency is disadvantaged compared with overseas training. European countries, by offering VAT exemption on training allow FTO's in those countries to offer significantly reduced comparable training costs.


But what of the instructor ratios?


These are not local airfield flying clubs catering for the private pilot, but organised professional flying training organisations with syllabus structure and timescales for student throughput. It has become apparent that even during the good times, some of the FTOs have been under pressure and the ratio of students to instructors sometimes sits at a 5 or 6:1 ratio. This, leaving the students to sit twiddling their thumbs and covering additional housing costs whilst they wait for their overworked instructors to allocate time to the students' one flight a week .

And what of the current climate ?

The industry as a whole and this segment included has a history of poor forward planning. During this downturn uncertainty of short term future pilot requirements and new graduate employment is having an impact on new student numbers.

Will the climate see the instructor volumes downsize and thus the organisations still under deliver to the student or will some sense prevail and the appropriate instructor /student ratios return.

Some FTOs will not survive this trough. Who will manage the business successfully through the cycle and who will stick their heads in the sand?

Are you a student at one of these FTO's ? What is your experience of the current training situation?