ALPL

Glamorous, challenging, rewarding, inspiring… The job of a commercial airline pilot is often described with an unending string of superlatives. While the pilot profession still continues to be one of the most attractive and challenging jobs, it has certainly lost some of its glory, the job market has changed, and pilot training has become a substantial financial investment. A new website – www.becomingapilot.eu – will help young aspiring pilots and their parents make an informed decision about this career option.

The path to becoming an airline pilot in Europe has changed dramatically in the past twenty years. The profession is much more accessible due to a rise of private training schools and new types of training & licensing schemes. This however comes at a price: the cost of pilot training varies between 70.000 and 140.000 EUR.

Most airlines choose no longer to invest in pilot training

Most airlines choose no longer to invest in pilot training. As a consequence, the cost and risk of becoming a pilot now falls primarily on the individual’s shoulders. The European Cockpit Association (ECA), representing pilots in Europe, set up the website – www.becomingapilot.eu – as a tool to help aspiring pilots and their parents assess the training and career options, and the everyday reality of being a pilot today.

“Parents are often the ones who pay the bill”, says ECA President Dirk Polloczek. “Mortgage on the family house is a very common way to finance pilot training. This is why we think it is important for parents to know what they will get in return on their investment. At the same time, they could help the next generation of pilots with choosing a good flight school, creating a plan B and managing expectations about the career”.

Parents are often the ones who pay the bill

Often aspiring pilots underestimate how volatile and hard-to-access the aviation job market is. For instance ‘wanna-be’ pilots do not know the difference in job perspectives depending on the chosen flight school. And a pilot license no longer guarantees you a flying job. It might leave you unemployed and with a huge debt. And even if you do find a job, atypical and precarious employment schemes are particularly frequent among young pilots at the beginning of their careers, with a negative impact on their income and ability to plan their future. So before taking the plunge, aspiring pilots and their parents need to take an informed decision.

If it is your dream, go for it! But do it with your eyes wide open!

“99% of the pilots have chosen this career because it was their childhood dream”, says Otjan de Bruijn, ECA Board Director. “We realise that people are designed in a way to pursue their dreams, no matter what, at all costs. And this is great! Because you get dedicated professionals, who love their job. But not everyone is lucky enough to get a pilot job. Some don’t even get their pilot license. We feel it is our duty to inform the future pilots of Europe about the potential pitfalls of the pilot training, the career and the job market. Our ultimate advice: If it is your dream, go for it! But do it with your eyes wide open!”

Visit the website, which offers aspiring pilots the basic information they need in a clear and systematic way.

The European Commission’s proposal for revision of the EU rules on wet-leasing of aircraft with crew registered in third-countries risks opening Pandora’s box, warns the European Economic & Social Committee (EESC). In an official Opinion, adopted during the summer, the consultative body warns the Commission against downplaying the social implications of wet-leasing. Crucially, it raises concerns about its use as a (semi-)permanent feature of airlines’ operating models “to drive down labour conditions or consumer conditions/rights”, and about the risk of opening the EU market to wet-leased aircraft from third countries “with low social standards and […] cost bases”.

The Opinion is part of the legislative process, which was initiated by the EU Commission, in late 2016. Under significant pressure from the US – which started to question the EU’s long-standing 7-months limitation (renewable once = 14 months) for wet-leasing into Europe – the EU Commission obtained a negotiating mandate to open up Europe’s lucrative wet-leasing market for US operators by the means of an ad hoc agreement. To allow for such an EU-US deal and to lift the time restriction between the two parties, the EU must first adapt its current rules on wet-leasing. Yet, the proposed rule change offers a foot-in-the-door for other countries to demand similar ‘deals’ (see ECA’s reaction in May).

EESC warns against downplaying the social implications of wet-leasing.

Such a scenario is also predicted by the EESC. This is why it requires from the Commission to clarify the wording and rationale of the proposal, to limit ‘unintended consequences’, and to consult with stakeholders – including recognised social partners.

The EESC also points out that the Commission has not conducted an impact assessment of its proposals, also not on the social aspects. It is recently that the BA wet-leasing-gate illustrated why & how wet leasing could undermine labour rights and working conditions in Europe.  An unlimited and unrestricted wet-leasing could pave the way for – what the EESC calls – “unintended hybrid business models” – airlines adopting wet-leasing as a permanent feature of how they operate.

An unlimited & unrestricted wet-leasing could pave the way for “unintended hybrid business models”

EESC therefore suggests carrying out a proper impact assessment. As rightly pointed out, the concerns raised by the trade unions are justified and wet-lease agreements in general are a highly sensitive subject for labour organisations. All interested stakeholders – and especially the social partners – need to be consulted during the negotiating process with the US.

The next question is obvious: what will the Commission do with this Opinion? If it risks opening a Pandora’s box – as the EESC sees it – then it must make sure it could be closed again.

A 10-metre long gas gun shooting drone components into an airliner windscreen. Sounds scary? It is less scary than a real mid-air collision between a drone and a plane or a helicopter. With the prospects of this happening in the future, researchers have geared up to find out exactly how dangerous a collision between a drone and a passenger jet or helicopter could be. The results of this state-of-the art laboratory collision testing and modelling show that even a small drone could do substantial damage.  

The UK Department for Transport, the Military Aviation Authority and the British Pilots’ Association BALPA, published the results of those tests in July, covering both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. The findings – summarised in this report – reveal that consumer drones could “critically damage” helicopter windshields and tail rotors. Particularly vulnerable are non-bird strike certified helicopter windscreens, typically used for general aviation aircraft. Such windscreens prove to have a low resistance to all the classes of drones tested.

The US authorities agreed not to expand the ban on bringing laptops into aircraft cabins for flights from Europe to the US. For now. This US decision takes into account Europe’s safety concerns of storing hundreds of devices – including their batteries – in a baggage hold. The severe fire hazard related to these batteries – as also ECA had pointed out in a position paper – cannot be overlooked as a threat and needs to be carefully assessed before measures like a ban should be considered.

The good news is that after weeks of uncertainty, political and expert meetings between the EU and the US resulted in a decision to explore alternatives and weigh the risks and benefits of such a ban. Several stakeholders, including the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), ECA and IATA highlighted possible safety risks that such a ban can bring along – risks that would by far outweigh any anticipated security benefits. Curing one evil by another – far bigger one – can hardly be the way forward.

Hundreds of electronic devices in a baggage hold would constitute a severe fire hazard – should the lithium batteries in those devices catch fire: hard to detect and very difficult to contain. With current airplane cargo hold fire suppression systems, it might prove to be impossible to extinguish a lithium battery fire, especially when the batteries are stored close to each other.

In any case, the efforts of EU authorities to take a balanced and reasonable decision, deserves praise. But as the US authorities seem to lean towards a zero-tolerance approach to security threats, it is likely that the ban will not be written off easily as a measure. To be continued…

In association with the European Cockpit Association (ECA) and further pilot associations which are members of this, the Association Luxembourgeoise des Pilotes de Ligne (ALPL) has announced that it has joined the coalition for fair competition in aviation “Europeans for a Fair Competition” (E4FC). This coalition is dedicated to restoring fair conditions for European aviation, which is competing with the state-funded airlines of the Gulf region.

In the past decade, the state-funded airlines of the United Arab Emirates and the emirate Qatar have massively expanded their capacity on routes, which were previously served by European airlines. The problem with this expansion is that these airlines, which are largely state-owned, are supported by state aid and benefit from access to cheaper (airport) infrastructure, fuel and capital. These practices, which are distorting the market, are disadvantageous not only for the European aviation industry but also damage the EU economy in general.

“The same rules should apply to everyone,” says airline captain and ALPL President Darrell Myers. However, a recently published study shows that the big airlines of the Persian Gulf have received €39 billion in aid from their governments in the past ten years. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that these financially strong airlines can easily finance their aggressive and damaging growth strategies. What is alarming, though, is that this is happening at the expense of European aviation and its employees, which are subject to very strict rules concerning aid and competition and which do not have access to unlimited financial means. Europe most act now to end this unfair competitive advantage and to secure the future of European aviation and its employees.”

“Europeans for a Fair Competition” aims to raise awareness of the necessity of fair competition, end the state subventions of the Gulf airlines and disclose which airlines are violating international trade and competition regulations.

“The presented figures show that 600 jobs are lost for every flight route previously served by a European airline which is cancelled due to the aggressive expansion of the three big Gulf airlines,” says Dirk Becker ALPL General Secretary. “This involves a real threat which won’t stop at Luxemburg and threatens the airlines of the grand duchy as the most recent reports on the expansion of the activities of Qatar Airways at Luxemburg airport show. It is happening now and we have to act now.”

Further information available here:

ALPL website

Europeans for Fair Competition

ECA submission to the US Department of State

ECA Statement at European Parliament Hearing

During plenary session at the 71st annual conference of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA), which took place in New Orleans, its members voted to hold the federation’s 73rd annual conference in Luxembourg, which will take place early 2018; the same year, which will mark ALPL’s 50th anniversary.

IFALPA’s annual conference and Global Pilot’s Symposium is regularly attended by more than 500 delegates from the Federation’s worldwide member associations, as well as by airline industry representatives like Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and Embraer. Also attending, are other international organizations such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and various aviation Regulators. Over the last seven decades IFALPA’s annual conference has became a landmark event in international aviation.

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