BA £21m investment in pilot training
UK flag-carrier British Airways has committed £21m to training 200 new pilots in 2025 in a move which marks the largest investment in ab-initio flight training by a UK airline for decades. In a game-changing move, BA will pay the full training costs of 200 aspiring airline pilots, having already enrolled 100 pilots into its ‘Speedbird Academy’ programme in 2024.
As Flight Training News reports, the scale of the British Airways programme is unprecedented in modern times and, say airline insiders, is firmly aimed at attracting the most talented applicants to become BA pilots, regardless of their financial means. BA says that the fully-funded commercial pilot training programme is designed to remove the financial barriers to becoming a pilot, making a career in the flight deck accessible to individuals from all backgrounds – saving successful applicants more than £100k in individual training costs. The airline recommends previous flying experience, including gliding.
