Why 2025 is the Best Time to Start Flight Training

It may come as no surprise to many aspiring pilots that the general sentiment around career opportunities in aviation in 2025 is far from optimistic. With a quick internet search, most people will learn that the major US airlines have dramatically slowed their hiring processes this year. This slow hiring market has also led regional carriers to limit their hiring due to lower attrition rates, creating a domino effect that has led many to rethink their decisions about becoming pilots. 

In this article, we will break down why the industry is in a hiring rut and why 2025 is an ideal time to start flight training. 

A Confused Travel Industry

Following the pandemic, the US experienced a boom in air travel as most travel restrictions were removed. With the stark increase in demand, airlines experienced some of the busiest travel days in history. The increase in travel, coupled with an ever-growing pilot shortage, forced the airlines to hire pilots at record rates, creating the greatest pilot hiring boom in history. 

This boom lasted for a couple of years until 2024 when the major airlines began to slow their hiring process. Initially, these companies cited aircraft delivery delays as the cause for the decreased hiring rate. As the year progressed, additional airlines followed suit, creating a ripple effect. Moving into 2025, the airlines were unsure of what to expect from this year. Historically, airlines have had a fairly good idea of what their financial reports will look like every quarter as they release these forecasts to the public. However, throughout this year, many airlines have been unsure what to expect, with some changing their financial forecasts multiple times per quarter. One airline even rescinded its projections entirely. This high degree of uncertainty has been attributed to a variety of factors, including a less consumer-friendly economy, lower-than-normal trust in the safety of air travel, tariffs, and rising international tensions. 

A Changing Hiring Market

When the majors slow hiring, pilots leave the regionals at a slower pace. As attrition slows, regional airline hiring is also slowed. These slowdowns affect more than just the passenger airlines as fewer opportunities for rapid career progression lead many to apply for jobs in the business jet sector filling many of the available roles. 

While these slowdowns are great for staffing purposes, they are not great for new pilots wishing to fly professionally. But it should be noted that most airlines are still hiring, just at slower rates. 

Before the pandemic, airlines would typically hire in batches. They would have one to two hiring windows every year. This was considered normal and pilots expected to either wait for the airline of their choice to start hiring or go to another airline if the opportunity arose. Even in the late 2010’s when the pilot shortage began, airlines were still hiring this way. But everything changed with the pandemic. 

When air travel resumed, airlines had a greater need for new pilots than ever, leading airlines to hire year-round, often overextending their training capacity. To help mitigate this problem, airlines would utilize third-party training facilities and push back start dates. As of the time of this writing, many of these delays still plague training departments as they have struggled to keep up with the stark influx of traffic, further exacerbating the ongoing issues. 

Now that airlines have slowed hiring and many have returned to hiring in batches, many people have begun to panic. The internet is currently flooded with stories of people having a hard time finding a pilot job, whether that be for an airline, business jet company, or even a time-building gig. While there is no denying the validity of these stories, it should be noted that these are temporary setbacks as the industry is known to fluctuate. 

So Why Start Flight School in 2025? 

The airline industry is well-known for having its ups and downs. During the pandemic, passenger air travel became nearly non-existent. However, 2021 was one of the busiest travel years in history. While no one can truly see the future, based on historical data trends, one can surmise that in two to three years the airline industry will hit another high point and hiring rates will increase considerably. 

The length of time one spends in flight school will vary based on several factors, making it impossible to predict exactly how long someone will spend in flight training. Here at Axiom Aviation, our full-time students typically complete the program in as little as 8 months. After which, most build their time to qualify to fly for the airlines by working as flight instructors (CFI). The length of time spent as a flight instructor can also vary considerably, but most build their hours at Axiom in less than two years as a CFI. 

If a student plans to spend two to three years between flight school and their time build, 2025 is an ideal time to start as it will likely prepare them to move on to flying more advanced aircraft at an optimal time. The biggest piece of advice we give to everyone interested in becoming a pilot is to start flight school as soon as practical. Flight training will continue to get more expensive as time progresses, and flight hours and certificates never expire. This means that starting your flight training sooner rather than later will only work in your favor. 

Interested in starting flight training? Give us a call at (262)297-4568. Or email us at info@flyaxiom.com