Becoming a pilot in the UK- What are the possibilities?

Question

I'm currently studying A levels in college and I've always aspired to become an airline pilot.
Right now the odds of me becoming a pilot seem to be extremely slim, my parents insist that it's a bad path to take and as long as I'm living under their roof I cannot go against them.

I've done a lot of reading about becoming a pilot, it seems as if the airline industry is falling apart right now, the demand for pilots is very low so the field is quite saturated, and it costs a heck of a lot just to become one.
Apparently training alone costs £60,000-£80,000 and starting salary as a copilot for an average airline is £21,000-£28,000, that being the money *before* being taxed and paying your loan off.

I just wanted to ask if I'm wrong, maybe I've been brainwashed to think that there is no hope for me to become a pilot, are there any cheaper alternatives than paying almost £100,000 for a license? And the most important question, is it worth becoming a pilot in todays world? It seems as if being a pilot in the 70's and 80's was equivalent to being a doctor, now the status of a pilot has been reduced to a bus driver...

Answer 1

You just about answered your own question.If people (wannabe pilots) would stop selling themselves out to the airlines by accepting ever crappy terms and conditions of employment.The industry wouldn't have got into this state.



As for comparison to a "bus driver" think of it this way.On the back of buses you see adverts"We'll pay you to train to drive this bus",They can't get drivers nobody wants the job(stigma same as garbage collector) so they even pay for the drivers to get PCV entitlement and pay them a salary....not bad for a bus driver.



A new airline pilot often pays to go to work (P2F pay to fly scheme).



I'd rather be a bus driver if it meant getting a wage surely that's the focal point of any job/career.

Answer 2

Training can cost far less than you state there, those prices are as has been said what an integrated course will cost you, as a guideline I got my licences without breaking the £50k mark by going down a 'modular' route. Have a look at pprune.org the training threads there have done the modular vs. integrated debate to death and will give you a good idea of what each one involves if you don't already know.



There are a couple of sponsored schemes floating about every now and then, British Airways being the most notable, they will secure your training loan and pay you back (I'm not sure if its in full or part) over your first few years employment with them. Certainly worth keeping your eyes out for these types of schemes, they are by far the best way into the industry.



You can expect your first job to take you to another country, employment isn't great here at the moment, however there have been a few more promising signs recently with airlines like Jet2 opening their doors to a mixture of experienced and unexperienced pilots. Thomson are rumoured to be doing similar in the not too distant future as well.



The terms and conditions are certainly being eroded and the £21,000 starting salary you've been quoted probably isn't that far off the truth. Unfortunately a lot of airlines have realised they can make money out of young hopeful pilots these days as well as the passengers, and are charging in excess of £20,000 to get a type-rating on their aircraft with the promise of a quite frankly disgusting contract afterwards. Some are even charging pilots to fly their first 400hrs/1 year with no guarantee of employment at the end (the good news is I don't know of any UK airlines doing this...yet).



In short the UK aviation industry isn't a great place at the moment, but who knows where we'll stand in a few years time when you might qualify? Certainly not where things were in the 70's/80's but theres a very small chance things could improve, keep an eye on the market and make a decision closer to the time.

Answer 3

You've got the basic facts right, although you can earn your pilot licenses and ratings for far than £100k. That's just what you'd spend on an integrated accelerated ATP course at one of the high-priced schools such as Oxford or CAE. Personally, with money being an issue, those courses are not only not worth it, they are probably not accessible to you.



Whether or not there is "hope" for you depends on how much you are willing to sacrifice in pursuit of becoming a pilot, and how much time and effort you are willing to put into it by taking one flight course at a time in a modular fashion as you can afford it. This may require that you first get trained in a decent paying profession that you can afford to get into, and then as you begin earning, and hopefully saving money, you can begin flight training, one rating at a time.



In any event, while there's every reason to believe that with enough dedication and perseverance you can probably earn a CPL and eventually find employment as a pilot, there is no guarantee that you'll ever be hired by an airline. It depends on what is "worth it" to you personally. Maybe you'd be better off in a different career path and flying for fun, or maybe you'd be happier struggling for 10 years to earn your qualifications, and then spend another 10 years struggling your way up the aviation employment ladder toward a goal you may never reach.

Answer 4

An airline pilot licence is NO guarantee of airline pilot employment -

Statistics - Many "airline pilot licence holders" - Few are employed -

Airline pilot licence tuition £85,000 + Airbus A320 type rating £20,000 -

Airline pilots are well paid...? - Yes - 5% of senior captains definitely are rich -

It was great 40 years ago - Now the airline pilot career is rubbish -

Started great in the 1960s... Nothing is left of the good old days -



If I was age 20 now in 2014... would I become airline pilot...? - NO -

I know the airline pilot career better than ANY of you here -



Would I make an Air Force pilot career...? - YES -

I was happy until last day to be AF Reserve KC-135 pilot -

Does not need to be "fighter" pilot (not the only kind Air Force pilots are) -

.

Answer 5

You're right on buddy. It costs a fair amount of money for sure and the demand in the U.K. is as you describe it. But considering that you would be paying for college and your loan for flight training afterwards only getting crap pay, you may want to change your aviation prospects.



I have a friend (I'm from across the pond, in the States) whom used to fly for American Airlines tell me to probably not go for large carriers but instead shoot for on-demand / charter operations, flying for smaller, corporate flight services. As he put it "flying for airlines just isn't glorious anymore"(he comes from a Pan Am background so he knows his stuff), and he's right. So, if you decide to continue on your path to becoming a pilot, you may want to consider on demand operations flying something like a G-V, or Falcon 900 versus going with some regional carrier which has you possibly sleeping in the cockpit between hops and getting stupidly low pay.



Sometimes, corporate operators do fly large airplanes like the B737 or A319 ACJ, but it just depends.

Answer 6

Yeah... the UK is owned by the big shots. BA, Virgin etc. Try out with Jet2 or EASYJET. I wanted to be a pilot too, but I realised not much chance. Also, about being a doctor- there are stories of people with 10 A*'s having to leave to different countries... Good luck, but don't set your hopes on it.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

Yes it's a tough career to get into and it could well be hard. Going Modular e.g. doing each part individually is cheaper but some airlines seem to frown on this even though nothing wrong with it. Also it's important to make contacts and connections who may be able to help you with your journey.



The different licences that are needed on the way to a ATPL are available on my site.



http://www.train2fly.com - Getting you into the air.