Three in four airline pilots flying again as travel rebounds, says UK firm survey

M RE than three quarters of the world’s airline pilots are flying again as travel demand rebounds from the pandemic, but many are unhappy with their jobs because of concerns about salaries, a survey has found.

The poll by K-based oose Recruitment and industry publication Flight lobal, of 1,184 pilots during the fourth quarter of 2022, showed that 77 per cent of those surveyed were flying.

This marked an increase from 2 per cent in the same period of 2021 and 43 per cent in 2020.

Airlines are on a hiring spree for pilots and cabin crew as passenger demand for travel comes roaring back after two years of a pandemicinduced slowdown that forced mass layoffs and furloughs of aviation workers.

Many airlines, particularly in North America, were having difficulty in recruiting flight crew due to fierce competition for these professionals amid an unexpectedly strong recovery.

However, the survey results reflect pilots’ dissatisfaction with salary levels, suggesting “a community still in trauma and having to adjust career expectations after the collapse in air travel when government restrictions enforced Covid-19 restrictions,” the report said.

More than half of the pilots surveyed did not get a salary increase for five years, while one in three have seen their pay fall, the survey showed.

nly 15 per cent of pilots said their salary was in line with the rising cost of living, while nearly 70 per cent said current pay levels would push aviation professionals to leave the sector.

Asia-Pacific was the worst affected region when it comes to pay, with 48 per cent of pilots reporting a pay cut.

By contrast, 73 per cent of pilots surveyed in North America reported higher salaries, driven by a strong travel recovery in their region.

lobally, 3 per cent of pilots polled said they want to change jobs in the next 12 months, including 5 per cent of captains the highest level in the four years of the survey. A better salary and benefits package was the main reason for seeking change, followed by an improved work-life balance.

Meanwhile, the figure of 2 per cent who said that, given the chance to start again, they would choose to become a pilot, also marked a low. nly 45 per cent said they would encourage young people to join the profession, another record low.

“Pilots will want to see their pay return to what it once was. I predict that 2023 will be a year with more remuneration crisis talks than ever before,” Mark Charman, founder and chief executive of oose Recruitment, said.