Career Pilot

Can you have a midlife career change to the airlines?

The Motown group, The Four Tops, made famous the line: “It’s the same old song!” As the airline industry anticipates another pilot shortage and consequent hiring boom, many midlife career changers will be singing the same old song: “I am over 40. Please don’t ask me why! But all I really want right now? Make some bucks and fly!” It is the most common question I hear. “Am I too old for an airline flying career?”

Kit Darby, who for decades was the official “watchdog” of airline hiring through his website and many publications, such as AIR INC, continues his oversight of hiring trends at KitDarby.com Aviation Consulting in suburban Atlanta. He weighs in on the age-old, old-age question.

“There are laws that protect older workers over 40. The general rules can be reviewed online. The large airlines follow these rules very carefully and are checked by the government to verify their compliance. This ensures that an equal number of qualified pilots are hired at any age over 40. It is true that fewer pilots are hired over age 40, but fewer apply.”

Back in the 1960s, it was a common theory that the airlines considered someone older than age 35 as over the hill. But, according to Darby, in recent years the airlines were hiring right up to the age limit of 60—until the mandatory retirement age was raised to age 65. He expects the airlines may hire pilots who are very near that new age limit in the future.

“During the last hiring boom in 2007 and 2008, when the airlines were hiring more than 1,000 pilots per month, many of the new hires were career changers who were much older as a group.” The age of the newly hired pilots during those days ranged from 25 to 57 at the major airlines and 21 to 52 at the national and regional carriers.

So, if you are 48 years of age and thinking about jumping on board the upcoming hiring gravy train and take that ride to United or Delta as a pilot—well, not so fast. The average major airline new-hire has about 6,000 hours. But, this doesn’t always mean that you need 5,000-plus hours to land that front seat at a big air carrier. It depends.

“Age is not the criteria for determining competitive flight experience; it is actually years of professional flying that are used to measure the amount of flight experience that is scored as competitive.” Darby points to the scoring system at one major airline. “The airline subtracts the date of your commercial license from the current date and divides this time into your total time to get your average hours per year. It is your hours per year that produces your score, and may even make you uncompetitive with thousands of hours over a long period of time.” This is why some pilots with only 2,500 hours are hired by a major airline rather than someone with 5,000 hours. That 2,500-hour pilot flew about 1,200 hours per year the past two years flying freight while the 5,000-hour pilot flew only about 35 hours monthly for 12 years in light twins.

But, that first job at the lower rung of the airline career ladder is quite doable for the 40-something career changer. Darby says, “Today, a pilot at any age could enter training in one of the accelerated professional programs and get all of the training required in about five months if they train full-time, or a year if they continue to work.” In 2007, the regional airlines were taking new pilots with fewer than 300 hours of total time and 50 hours of multiengine experience. These hours are quite attainable during a short period, particularly at a flight academy. Until the new hiring minimums are implemented in 2013, those low hiring numbers will no doubt persist.

Some regional airlines have started to fund bridge programs for low-time pilots who are interviewed but are slightly below current hiring minimums. This sounds familiar to those who remember when United Airlines was hiring private pilots with only 350 hours and would train them for the commercial pilot certificate at airline expense.

“Older pilots in general make great students and employees. Having been in the workforce in any other field gives them the work ethic and career focus that airline employers seek. They show up on time and do their homework. They follow the rules and proudly wear the uniform.” Finally, Darby has an uncanny future vision into the crystal ball. He predicts:

• New rest rules will require between 5 to 15 percent more pilots just to meet the current level of flying.
• By 2017, retirements at the major airlines will increase to 3,000 pilots annually and 1,500 at the smaller airlines, for a total of 4,500 retirements per year.
• The industry has grown about 5 percent per year for the past 40 years. There are about 90,000 airline pilots out there. Another 4,500 pilots are needed annually.
• Fractional, corporate, very light jets, foreign airlines, and instruction will add to the demand.
• New airline pilot hiring minimums requiring 1,500 hours will take effect in August of 2013. These times may be reduced to 800 to 1,000 with additional specialized training, such as a four-year degree from an aviation program and coursework in icing, high-altitude aerodynamics, weather, and crew resource management.
• There is a window of opportunity for low-time pilots to get to the airlines before the new minimums take effect.

Now, the million dollar question: “How to afford the transition from that $75,000 annual paycheck as an IT professional to a $45,000 training tab and a first year starting salary of $21,000?” Mr. Darby?