<p><img alt="Etihad" src="/getasset/e966c2f7-86f4-42ff-b70f-1683632fe4f7/" /></p>
<p>A decade or so ago, the big three Gulf airlines – Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways – were desperate for pilots. Three years running, I visited the region to research a Middle East Careers special, interviewing the executives at each carrier tasked with finding and training the next generation of flightcrew. Such were their expansion ambitions that recruitment strategy – from advertising and recruitment roadshows to offering highly attractive relocation packages for pilots and their families – was one of the most important tasks for their senior management teams.</p>
<p>Abu Dhabi’s Etihad even opened its cadet scheme – a way to encourage young Emiratis to take up flying for a career with the national airline – to international candidates, such was the need for new blood in the cockpit.</p>
<p>A decade or so on, and that frenzied search for new pilots appears to have run out of steam. While Emirates is still expanding, Qatar Airways’ prospects have been affected by the diplomatic spat with its Gulf neighbours, which has caused operational headaches and stopped the carrier flying many regional routes. Etihad, the last of the three to be formed in 2003, has perhaps fallen victim to the laws of physics, in that three ambitious, globe-spanning airlines, based in hubs an hour’s flight from each other (or in the case of Etihad and Emirates, an hour’s drive) cannot go on expanding indefinitely, even with growing demand for long-haul travel. The Abu Dhabi flag-carrier has announced that it is axing 50 pilot positions by the end of January.</p>
<p>It is far from the crisis that has afflicted the once-bloated legacy airlines of Europe and North America, although the airline reckons that its 2,065 pilot roster is around 160 more than it needs, as it struggles for profitability. However, for a Gulf airline to be not just halting but reversing its recruitment efforts is uncharted waters indeed.</p>
<p>A decade or so ago, the big three Gulf airlines – Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways – were desperate for pilots. Three years running, I visited the region to research a Middle East Careers special, interviewing the executives at each carrier tasked with finding and training the next generation of flightcrew. Such were their expansion ambitions that recruitment strategy – from advertising and recruitment roadshows to offering highly attractive relocation packages for pilots and their families – was one of the most important tasks for their senior management teams.</p>
<p>Abu Dhabi’s Etihad even opened its cadet scheme – a way to encourage young Emiratis to take up flying for a career with the national airline – to international candidates, such was the need for new blood in the cockpit.</p>
<p>A decade or so on, and that frenzied search for new pilots appears to have run out of steam. While Emirates is still expanding, Qatar Airways’ prospects have been affected by the diplomatic spat with its Gulf neighbours, which has caused operational headaches and stopped the carrier flying many regional routes. Etihad, the last of the three to be formed in 2003, has perhaps fallen victim to the laws of physics, in that three ambitious, globe-spanning airlines, based in hubs an hour’s flight from each other (or in the case of Etihad and Emirates, an hour’s drive) cannot go on expanding indefinitely, even with growing demand for long-haul travel. The Abu Dhabi flag-carrier has announced that it is axing 50 pilot positions by the end of January.</p>
<p>It is far from the crisis that has afflicted the once-bloated legacy airlines of Europe and North America, although the airline reckons that its 2,065 pilot roster is around 160 more than it needs, as it struggles for profitability. However, for a Gulf airline to be not just halting but reversing its recruitment efforts is uncharted waters indeed.</p>