Pilot wars: BA and easyJet fight for staff as air travel rebounds

British Airways and easyJet are scrapping over new pilots at Gatwick airport after a recovery in air travel left the industry grappling with a staff shortage.
The two carriers, which are the biggest airlines at Gatwick, are increasing recruitment efforts at Britain’s second-biggest airport as air travel recovers to pre-pandemic levels.EasyJet is offering captains up to £191,000 in fixed and variable pay for switching to the budget airline, according to industry sources. Remuneration for new captains at British Airways’ short-haul Euroflyer division at Gatwick tops out at £138,000, they added.
EasyJet has been offering higher salaries than BA at Gatwick since its rival returned to the airport after the pandemic, with the launch of a new EuroFlyer division.
BA and easyJet fly the same types of aircraft at Gatwick, versions of the Airbus A320 family, meaning they are competing for the same pool of staff. It is unusual for easyJet, which prefers to promote from within, to recruit captains externally.Passenger numbers at Gatwick rebounded close to pre-pandemic levels in the first half of the year. However, training for new pilots all but ground to a halt during the pandemic, exacerbating shortfalls.
A 2022 report by the consultancy Oliver Wyman warned that the shortage of pilots would continue to worsen over the following decade in most regions globally. The consultancy forecast that Europe could face a shortage of 19,000 pilots by 2032.
EasyJet boasts of offering pilots “generous” leave allowances including “bookable days off to promote rest and relaxation”. Pilots also receive free food and drink during flights and free parking at the airport. Perks for BA pilots include “unlimited discounted airfares for your friends and family” and a pension with employer contributions of up to 15 per cent.
The dogfight over pilots can, in part, be traced back to BA’s decision to temporarily abandon Gatwick as the pandemic hit in 2020, electing to concentrate the few flights it was able to operate at Heathrow.
Having warned that there was “no certainty” BA would return, the flag carrier restarted operations from the Sussex base, but only after setting up its Euroflyer short-haul subsidiary. Euroflyer’s focus was on cutting costs to return Gatwick operations to profitability.
EasyJet, best-known for being a budget carrier, is these days focused on competing on routes with the likes of BA rather than Ryanair or Wizz.
Both carriers have resorted to innovative ways to attract new pilots after a hiring freeze was imposed during the pandemic.
BA announced its “Speedbird” pilot academy cadet scheme earlier this year, offering 100 people the chance to benefit from training worth £100,000.
BA has traditionally relied on pilots moving up through the ranks, starting out on short-haul aircraft before graduating to long-haul planes. Some pilots are therefore prepared to accept lower pay initially to advance their career in years to come.
EasyJet has sought to combat this by joining forces with the long-haul only operator Virgin Atlantic. The two carriers announced an exchange programme in August whereby easyJet pilots join Virgin on secondment for three years to be trained on its larger Airbus aircraft.
Earlier this year, the Luton-headquartered carrier announced plans to recruit 1,000 new pilots by 2028. It also wants to increase the number of women applying for pilot roles — just 6 per cent of all pilots worldwide are women.
Captain Kate West, easyJet pilot training manager, said: “Tackling stereotypes about our job is critical to driving this and while we are proud to have many more women flying with us today.”
A spokeswoman for easyJet insisted the carrier’s recruitment efforts were not “targeting any specific airline”. “[But] some of these will be based at BA; they will also be with Wizz and Tui as well as other airlines,” she said.
A spokesman for British Airways said that it was also hiring direct-entry pilots at EuroFlyer and its CityFlyer subsidiary based at London City airport.