CTC Aviation, one of the world’s largest pilot training companies working with over 50 global airlines including British Airways, easyJet and Qatar Airways, says that between now and 2020, the industry needs to find over 235,000 new pilots to meet growing demand for air travel.
The company says that with a difficult employment market in the wider economy, huge demand for more pilots and starting salaries ranging from anywhere between £30,000 and £50,000, there has never been a better time to become a pilot.
The company is embarking on its biggest ever global campaign to find pilot cadets. In 2012, more than 99% of CTC Wings Cadet Graduates have been placed with an airline. Between 2003 and 2013, CTC Aviation received 64,800 pilot training applications.
Martin Hunt, Managing Director, CTC Aviation Training (UK) Limited, said,“Globally there are currently around 22,000 commercial jets and this is forecast to grow to 40,000 by 2030. Similarly, there are just under 150,000 pilots but over the next seven years, the aviation industry needs to find a further 235,000 not only to meet the demands for more airline travel, but also replace those who retire.
“We are looking to find potential pilot cadets from around the world. Candidates should demonstrate the skills, knowledge and attitude required of an airline pilot. These qualities are assessed during selection through a series of aptitude and intelligence tests, team skill exercises and interviews to provide a snapshot of a candidate’s training potential. Leadership and decision making skills are developed and honed during the training programme.”
A GROWING AVIATION SECTOR
New research from CTC Aviation with 916 pilots from around the world reveals that 91% expects the number of air passengers to increase over the next five years, compared to just 2.7% who expect it to decline.
When asked how they see the industry developing between now and 2018, other key findings include:
More than a third of pilots surveyed anticipate a double digit percentage rise in the number of air passengers66% of pilots anticipate that the amount of revenue generated by the aviation industry will increase (12% expects a dramatic rise here). Only 18% anticipate a fall45% of pilots believe that the financial health of airlines will improve, compared to 31% who expect it to deteriorateOnly 6% believe that the level of leisure aviation will decline, compared to 82% who anticipate growth73% of pilots believe that the volume of business aviation movements will increase over this timeframe
In terms of growth globally, CTC Aviation’s research reveals that pilots believe that the Asia Pacific aviation market will see the strongest revenue growth over the next 10 years. Some 41% anticipate that it will increase by more than 40% over this period, compared to 26.7% who said this for the Middle East market. This is followed by 19.2% who expect this scale of growth for the aviation sector in Africa.
RegionThe percentage of pilots who expect this aviation market to see revenue growth of over 40% during the next 10 yearsAsia Pacific41.0%Middle East26.7%Africa19.2%South America14.1%Central America9.9%North America5.6%Europe4.8%
BECOMING A PILOT
CTC Aviation Group Limited delivers training around the world for airlines and individual pilots alike, from basic licence training all the way through to examiner standardisation programmes for highly experienced airline captains.
The company offers state of the art training facilities, highly qualified instructor teams and has long term partnerships with some of the best airline names around.
CTC Wings is the company’s flagship integrated training programme for tomorrow’s airline pilots. The different routes into the programme offer opportunities for aspiring pilots with varying degrees of experience (including zero!) around the world to train.
The CTC Wings Cadet route is aimed at candidates with little or even no flying experience. Here, candidates are taken through the basics on single-engine and multi-engine flying and depending on the opportunities available at the time, on to jet training and airline type rating with one of the company’s well-known partner airlines.
The company’s Crew Training Centres are located in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. The financial investment in the Cadet course is £89,800 over two years, and this includes training and accommodation. Some airlines will repay part or all of this once pilots join them after graduating.
CTC provides a unique “Performance Protection” package which greatly reduces the financial risk for trainee pilots. This protection safeguards a great deal of their investment by providing a refund of up to £84,800 in case of failure before the final stage of training.
For those who want to test their flying skills before even submitting an application, CTC Aviation has launched an online aviation game for potential candidates. It is designed to be fun, but also to assess people’s aptitude for commercial flying, www.ctcwings.com/game.
For further information visit www.ctcwings.com.
