After falling into crisis due to the pandemic, the aviation industry is facing even more problems. The world is beginning to emerge from the biggest pandemic, only to find that it is facing a pilot shortage after many people were laid off or decided to retire, Bloomberg reports.
Government policies such as mandatory vaccinations for trainee pilots and travel restrictions are also causing a lack of potential employees in the aviation sector, according to Alpha Aviation Group CEO Banu Choudhry. The company operates flight schools in the United Arab Emirates and the largest training centre in Southeast Asia, which is based in the Philippines. They have trained more than 2,500 pilots for carriers such as Philippine Airlines, AirAsia Group, Cebu Pacific and Air Arabia.
Modern longer-haul narrow-body aircraft such as Airbus SE’s A321 XLR, due for delivery from 2023, will require more pilots than other models. This will further complicate the pilot shortage, the executive believes.
“Airlines will continue to buy, upgrade their fleets, and as long as they do that, they will need pilots,” he said.
“The market is getting interesting again and we are starting to see this upward trend. We’re starting to see airlines coming to us and saying – look this is my delivery schedule, can you get me ready pilots in two years?”
Many airlines are trying their best to rehire pilots, cabin crew and ground staff, but it is not a simple process and some jobs remain unfilled. Careers in the industry no longer seem as secure as they once did.
According to Banu Choudhry, it takes about 18-24 months to train a pilot, which means carriers need to work on training them before delivering new aircraft such as those with narrow-bodies, like the A321 XLR, which can fly longer. Airlines typically order aircraft years in advance given the limited production capacity of aircraft manufacturers.
The number of pilots assigned to an aircraft could reach 18 for the A321 XLR compared with 10 or 12 for older models of the same family, said Choudhry, who also heads UK-based private equity firm C&C Alpha Group and was an early investor in Air Deccan, a pioneer in India’s low-cost carrier industry.
Boeing Co. estimates the world will need more than 600,000 new pilots over the next 20 years, during which airlines will take delivery of 43,600 new aircraft. Demand for new planes will increase in markets where carriers are looking to replace their old fleets and in countries such as India, home to IndiGo, the biggest customer for Airbus’ best-selling narrow-body planes.
That’s why Alpha Aviation is setting up a new flight training centre in India. The initial investment is worth $15 million and there are plans to expand and invest up to $100 million, Choudhry said.