Boeing Pilot Training Ab Initio Program

Boeing Pilot Training Ab Initio ProgramBoeing Pilot Training Ab Initio ProgramBoeing says its beginningan ab initio flight training program called the BoeingPilot Development Program that will take pilots from zero pilot hurs to being type-ratedin a Boeing jet, and presumably ready for an airline career. The companyannouncedthe new program at a 2014EAA AirVenture Oshkoshevent,just after the release of the Boeing2014 Pilot and Technician Outlook. Pilot Demand ThePilot and Technician Outlook predicts a demand for 533,000 new pilots throughout the world over the next 20 years. Thats an estimated 27,000 new pilots needed per year. Most of this demand- 216,000 pilots- will be in Asia, with Europe and North America following behind. With the high number of new jet deliveries coupled with pilot attrition and the FAAs increase in the number of hours required for an airline transport pilot certificate, Boeing thinks well need a new way to train pilots. Were forecasting nearly 36,800 new a irplanes worth $5.2 trillion- a pretty amazing market, said Shary Carbary, Boeings Vice President of Flight Services, at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Theres a lot of debate on if theres a pilot shortage. Boeing is forecasting the demand, and what were suggesting is that in order to ensure this is elend an issue going forward, we need to come together as an industry, as governments and regulators around the world, and as academia, to help ensure that this does not become a critical issue and that we can address this problem. Flight Program The ab initio flight program will help soften the blow of any loomingpilot shortage, according to Boeing, with the help ofairline partnerships. In atypical ab initio program, the airlinesponsors a student pilotfrom the beginning of training, mentors them throughout their pilot training, and hires the pilot once he or she is type-rated and certified. The program has worked well in other countries, but with the FAAs regulations, people a re skeptical that it will workthe same in the U.S. The Boeing Pilot Development Program will be implemented byJeppesen, a subsidiary of Boeing,and will be customized to fit an airlines needs and its countries regulations. The program will ensure students get basic courses like math and physics, along with piloting skills specific to the commercial airline that might sponsor them, as well as classes on crew resource management and airline operating procedures. The student will be trained at Boeing training centers in one of the numerous locations throughout the world. Prerequisites The prerequisites for student pilots entering the ab initio program include a screening process reading, writing, and speaking English a first class medical and a visa. Students will be carefully selected to prevent high wash-out rates. David Wright, Director ofBoeing Pilot Development Program, also spoke, saying, To meet this staggering demand for tens of thousands of airframes on the market over the next twenty years, were excited to announce today the development of the Pilot Development Program. Our program is being designed for a global footprint. We are looking to support all of our customers around the globe, said Wright. Boeing has been building airplanes for almost 100 years. Jeppesen has been in training since the 1940s. By combining these two brands, we offer a unique product and a unique service to our airline customers. The program will train students from street to left seat by taking a student withzero flight hours and putting them throughclassroom learning, flight instruction, a jet bridge program, and a type rating training program, to end with potential employmentat an airline. Wright said the program could cost between $100,000 to $150,000, andwould take about 12 months to complete. The averagestudent would come out of the program with between 200 and 250 hours, according to Wright, still not enough to become employable as an airline pilot in the United States. Wright andCarbaryfielded questions from the crowd during the media briefing, including how students would get from 250 hours to the magic 1500 hours that the FAA requires for an ATP certificate. Carbary saidthey expected that students in the U.S.would need to follow a similar career path as they do now, most likely working as a flight instructor. Ab in Europe and Asia In Europe and Asia, a similar ab initio programoften leads directly into the flight deck. America is slightly behind in this regard and will face challenges due to the FAAs 1500-hourATP rule. But, according to Wright, the pilot outlook is good, even for the U.S. market, and its expected that airlines will come on board with the program, potentially encouraging the FAA to reevaluate the rules once more. The other challenge is a financial one. The current problem with flight education is that at the cost of $100,000 or more, a school like this will leave a graduate with large loan payments and very low income. At li ttle more than $20,000 in income for an entry-level dezentral airline pilot job, its difficult to encourage anyone to take the leap toward becoming an airline pilot, let alone encourage them to spend upward of $100,000. If the program could be airline funded, or perhaps offer financial aid of some sort, then it could be valuable, said one attendee. According to Wright, the airlines are not opposed to such a program. Carbary said the while the industry isnt in a great spot right now for regional pilot pay. Eventually, supply and demand will normalize, and that will mean a pay increase across the board, thoughthe U.S. is lagging behind.The reality is that its supply and demand, and in the United States, we had a lot of furloughed pilots for a long time, Carbary said. They have now been pulled into the Middle Eastand Asian customers, so we dont have that to drill on anymore. Were already starting to see the pay increase. For now, Boeing says that the Pilot Development Program is a sel f-funded one, at least in the United States. In the meantime, Boeing continues to grow its training program, opening multiple training centers, adding simulators and hiring instructors to its19 training centers all over the world.The company is in the process of openinga new training center in Russia, has added simulators in atLondon Gatwick and in Singapore to meet training demands.