London, United Kingdom – British Airways has announced a significant £21 million investment in its Speedbird Pilot Academy, facilitating the training of up to 200 aspiring pilots without the burden of self-funding the £100,000 cost.

• The announcement was made at the 2024 Farnborough International Airshow.
• The Speedbird Pilot Academy, which was launched last year, already supports 100 future pilots chosen from over 20,000 applicants.
• The 2025 program intake has been doubled to 200 cadets.
• The two-year training course will qualify cadets to become First Officers with British Airways, which currently employs around 4,000 pilots.
• Applicants must be between 17-55 years old and have six GCSEs grade A-C or 5-9, including Maths, English, and a Science, or equivalent qualifications. Fluency in English is required, with non-native speakers needing an IELTS score of 5.5 overall.

Training components include:

• Ground School (six-eight months)
• Basic Flight Training (six months)
• Advanced Flight Training (four-six months)
• Upset Recovery Training (three flights)
• Airline Pilot Standards Multi-Crew Cooperation Course (three-four weeks)

Statements:

• “The standard of applicants we see for this programme are consistently high so as part of our commitment to attracting the very best candidates from right across society, we’ve increased the 2025 cohort to give as many people as possible the chance of realising their dream,” said Sean Doyle, British Airways Chairman and CEO.

AFM team note – flight training is currently conducted with Skyborne and FTEJerez.

Source: British Airways