With a worldwide pilot shortage expected over the next decades, JetBlue is taking an unusual step: it plans to train would-be airliner pilots who come to it without prior training as military or private pilots.
In recent years, as flying has expanded and the supply of ex-military pilots has shrunk, airlines worldwide have begun to feel the effects of a shortage. Commercial pilot licenses require 1500 hours of flying experience.
JetBlue’s plan, new to the U.S., but similar to plans used by some European and Asian carriers. Instead of starting in small planes and working up gradually, candidates will start in simulators for commercial planes, and would also take academic classes at JetBlue’s facility.
They would then be “farmed out” to partner companies to earn their flight time before returning to JetBlue or other airlines. JetBlue calls the plan Gateway7; it’s based on a system proposed several years ago by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and adapted by Lufthansa and EasyJet among others. JetBlue plans to use it first for regional jets and then evaluate expanding it to larger planes. Candidates will pay for their own training.
The program is awaiting FAA approval, and has drawn opposition from the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents JetBlue pilots. The union says that there are actually thousands of available pilots it considers more qualified than graduates from the program would be.
BloombergBusiness has more details HERE
Flight simulator photo: USAF
