To Ensure Its Planes Have Pilots, Airbus Is Opening Its Own Flight Academy
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
Aircraft manufacturers have been sounding the alarm of an upcoming airline pilot shortage around the globe.
Boeing has predicted an “unprecedented” demand of 790,000 pilots for airlines worldwide during the next 20 years due to “record-high air travel demand and a tightening labor supply.” Airbus predicts that Europe alone will need 94,000 new pilots during the next 20 years. So to help solve the problem, it has decided to start its own pilot academy.
The plane builder announced Thursday that it would open a new academy, dubbed the Airbus Flight Academy Europe, to train airline pilots in Angoulême, France. Its pilot cadet training program will be “ab-initio,” meaning it will start pilots off from the very beginning of the training process. The curriculum will include 750 hours of ground school, plus 200 hours of flight training.
Flight students will be trained on a fleet of single and multi-engine aircraft that are “equipped with full digital cockpit technology,” as well as the latest flight simulators. At end of training, students will be “operationally-ready pilots.”
The program is open to high school graduates 18 years or older, worldwide. Applicants will undergo online and on-site screening tests to determine if they will be admitted to the school.
Airbus says the academy will educate up to 200 pilots per year.
Featured photo by ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images.
Sign-up Successful!
Welcome to The Points Guy!
WELCOME OFFER: 80,000 Points
TPG'S BONUS VALUATION*: $1,600
CARD HIGHLIGHTS: 3X points on dining and 2x points on travel, points transferrable to over a dozen travel partners
*Bonus value is an estimated value calculated by TPG and not the card issuer. View our latest valuations here.
- Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- Enjoy benefits such as a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases, plus more.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 80,000 points are worth $1,000 toward travel.
- With Pay Yourself Back℠, your points are worth 25% more during the current offer when you redeem them for statement credits against existing purchases in select, rotating categories
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.