Becoming a Pilot, at what cost? – Lily Ayres

"If training to become a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher or other vocation, student loans can be obtained in relation to the cost of the university degree or course but are not available to pilots. There is no logical or rational reason to preclude pilots from accessing student loans." (Airline)

Nobody likes to talk about money. It’s a subject that we as humans tend to shy away from, and that’s as true in the aviation industry as it is in everyday life. The cost of training to become a pilot is a topic that is often left quietly unspoken about, or unacknowledged altogether. Today, I’m sharing my experience as openly and honestly as possible on this, in the hope that change is on the horizon.

With almost no airline-sponsored cadet programmes remaining, the financial burden of training to become a pilot has become overwhelming in recent years. With prices varying between £60,000-£120,000 to become a commercial pilot, many students and aspiring pilots are left feeling alone and unsure about a career in the sky. I can still recall the day that I realised how inaccessible this career was for someone like me, and how unobtainable it felt at the time. At the age of about fifteen, I went to an open evening at Heathrow for an integrated flying school with my mum, and let me tell you, it was a very sobering evening!

After digesting all the information on offer, we both knew that there was no feasible way forward for us to finance this dream. She had tirelessly worked multiple jobs whilst I was growing up to financially support my two siblings and I as a single parent and has always gone above and beyond to support us. It was a disappointing and sombre moment for both of us, all because I had my heart set on this specific career.

So what is the problem exactly?

In short, the problem is that there is currently no real way to finance this training on a meritocratic basis. Whether you are wanting to fly just to get a PPL or go the distance and become a commercial pilot; unless you have the cash available to you, there is no widely accessible loan or student finance scheme that will cover the cost of training whilst you learn. If you were to take out a loan, repayment instalments are due almost immediately after the funds are released, which isn’t realistic for student pilots due to the time it takes to complete the training. Alongside this, the interest on these loans is almost always unreasonably high (significantly above the base rate for other student loan schemes), which means repayments will be expensive and unfeasible for the majority of the individuals who need to apply for them in the first place.

Things weren’t always this way though.

The Spanish bank, BBVA, at one time offered ‘Pilot Loans’ allowing aspiring pilots to take out a loan against a secured asset and begin to make repayments once their training was complete. Although the interest rates were unsurprisingly high, it was at the very least, better than nothing. In addition, there used to be a number of airline-funded training programmes. Despite being comparatively in short supply and extremely competitive, they were also better than nothing. Unfortunately, BBVA stopped providing Pilot Loans in 2017, and airline-funded training programmes began to whittle away too. After the pandemic happened and wiped out the last few training programmes that were left, it was no surprise that bounce-back for this kind of aid has been almost non-existent.

Why does this issue need addressing?

Ultimately, we are leaving the majority of aspiring pilots with no viable options and actively discouraging individuals outside of higher socio-economic backgrounds from pursuing this career. I could write a completely separate post focusing on the DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) challenges that the aviation industry and pilot roles specifically face, which will undoubtedly result in the widely predicted pilot shortages that are being forecast across multiple sectors. These issues do not exist in isolation; they are linked, and we have to look at the contributing factors which have resulted in such high levels of inaccessibility to this career path.

I am, and have always been, a big believer in the philosophy that hard work will get you to where you want to be. It rings true in most scenarios and in my opinion, for most careers. However, hard work cannot exist without opportunity and advocacy. No matter the sentiment, you simply cannot work-ethic your way into a lump sum of £100,000 in a reasonable time frame. And sadly, that is where this philosophy becomes unapplicable to pilot training pathways. These kinds of largely insurmountable barriers rarely exist in other professional industries and are relatively unique to this career.

I currently work within the aviation industry as a full time Airworthiness Engineer whilst completing modular flying training. I still catch myself sometimes being frustrated and impatient for not being able to afford to cover the costs of my training upfront. At which point, I start aggressively entering those competitions to try and win £100,000 so that my dream job will become a reality, and I can finally foot the bill for my flying training and not worry about it anymore… It’s a real “if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry” moment. In all honesty, the fact that an otherwise life-changing amount of money would simply only just cover the cost of my professional training on an integrated course represents the current state of accessibility within the industry. If that doesn’t show the scale of the issue that needs solving here, then I don’t know what does.

Is change on the horizon?

Despite this, I do believe there is a lot to be optimistic about going forward, but more change and action is clearly required. I have been lucky enough to receive some financial aid in the form of partial scholarships from some amazing institutions, so there is help out there, and there are some great people doing some incredible work to encourage further change within the industry.

In May 2023, the Department for Transport released an independent research study conducted by SYSTRA and Northpointthat assessed the current pilot funding models in the UK. To see the release of this research is extremely heartening, and if you have made it this far into my post, I would strongly urge you to go and look at the reports that have been generated. If you’re reading this and feel like you can relate; what this research will show you is you are not alone, it is not all your fault, and the system does need to change.

One highlight that has been really positive to see is the launch of the TUI Pilot Cadet Programme, which launched earlier this year. It provides an airline-funded training opportunity for aspiring pilots here in the UK through a well-known and reputable provider. I am so thrilled to see schemes like this open for future prospective pilots, and I really hope that more opportunities like this are coming.

To those of you wanting to fly, whether that’s as a hobby or a career, I’ll finish by saying this: keep going. Even when it feels overwhelming, keep applying for scholarships, keep setting yourself up for success wherever possible, and keep building your support network of people who are in a similar situation to you. If you’re looking for one person who can absolutely relate; I am right here with you.

Lily Ayres @flylils