• easyJet is searching for the next generation of pilots and recruitment is now open for 200 cadets to join its pilot training programme

  • The airline has ambitious plans for 1000 new pilots in total to train with and join the airline by 2027

  • easyJet has long championed increasing diversity in the airline industry and has recently announced it is funding opportunities for young women and young people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds to launch a career in aviation through a new partnership with Fantasy Wings

  • With still around only 6% of pilots worldwide being women, the airline remains focused on encouraging more women to become a pilot to join this exciting and rewarding profession

  • Applications for the Generation easyJet Pilot Training Programme are now open at becomeapilot.easyjet.com

This World Pilot’s Day, Europe's leading airline easyJet has announced that it has reopened its renowned Generation easyJet Pilot Training programme for the 2023 intake of approximately 200 aspiring pilots.

The Generation easyJet Pilot Training Programme is delivered in partnership with CAE and provides aspiring airline pilots the highest standards of training to become qualified commercial airline pilots in around two years. Ground training is delivered at CAE’s European aviation academy locations in Gatwick, Milan, Brussels, or Madrid, and flight training at CAE Phoenix in the US. Upon successful completion of the programme, graduates begin their careers flying as a Second Officer with easyJet.

A cohort of cadet pilots selected when the programme re-opened in January 2022 is already in training. Applications are now being accepted for programmes beginning as of December 2023 and graduating as of 2026.

Over the next five years, over 1000 new pilots are expected to join easyJet. The airline continues to encourage those from diverse backgrounds, including having a focus on driving more female pilots to apply, as part of its commitment to increasing diversity in all forms across the airline and continue to create an inclusive culture for all.

easyJet has pledged its support for CAE Women in Flight, providing one European candidate access to their first employment opportunity. CAE funds and provides pilot training for the successful candidate at one of CAE’s aviation academies. The successful recipient becomes a CAE Women in Flight ambassador, encouraging more girls and women to consider a career in aviation by dreaming big and having no limits.

Captain David Morgan, Chief Operating Officer for easyJet, said:

“We are delighted to have opened applications for this year’s Generation easyJet Pilot Training Programme 2023 as part of our plan to recruit and train 1,000 new pilots by 2027.

“Ensuring we attract a diverse pipeline of people to join us and that they thrive as part of the easyJet team is crucial and so it remains a priority for us to challenge gendered stereotypes of the career to encourage more women to choose a career as a pilot. While we are proud to have doubled the number of women flying with us in recent years, we know there is always more to be done to increase diversity in all of its forms in the flight deck and so we are committed to continue leading the industry in this direction.

“We are excited to welcome the next generation of pilots to easyJet in the coming months and years and look forward to seeing them soar to new heights.”

“We look forward to training the next generation of easyJet pilots at CAE locations in Europe later this year,” said Nick Leontidis, CAE’s Group President, Civil Aviation. “The Generation easyJet Pilot Training Programme provides an opportunity for aspiring pilots to realize their dream of a career in the flight deck. We are especially proud that our CAE Women in Flight partnership with easyJet is encouraging more women to reach for the sky and become an airline pilot.  As a longstanding airline partner, easyJet can count on CAE’s support as it pursues its growth objectives and the recruitment of 1,000 pilots by 2027.” 

With still only around 6% of pilots worldwide being women, easyJet has been focused on tackling this industry-wide gender imbalance head-on, by encouraging more women to join its cadet pilot programme.

Through this work, easyJet has more than doubled the number of female pilots in its ranks and continues to be focused building a pipeline of more diverse talent to drive a sustainable change for the longer term. Alongside recruitment campaigns and working with training partners to attract more women and people from diverse background to the career now, over the last seven years the airline’s Pilot School Visit’s programme has seen pilots present to hundreds of schools up and down the country, all with the aim of challenging stereotypes about the job and show it’s a career for everyone.

Most recently, the airline announced a partnership with leading diversity in aviation youth organisation Fantasy Wings to provide young women and young people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and with greater opportunity to launch a career in the industry, through Fantasy Wings’ aviation career development programme. easyJet is sponsoring places for students from 50 schools across the UK to join the programme, which is designed to equip young people with the necessary tools they need to succeed in the industry and land their first-time role through skills development, practical knowledge training, career mentorship by industry leaders and even flight training.

This year’s Fantasy Wings programme is due to commence in October 2023 and enrolment will open to students between the ages of 13 and 25 who are based in the UK. To register for updates on the Fantasy Wings programme visit fantasywings.co.uk/register.

To apply to the Generation easyJet Pilot Training Programme, aspiring pilots will need to be aged 18 or over by the time they begin training and will need to provide certificates that demonstrate they have passed the High School/Secondary School exams for Maths / English / any Science, along with 2 other subjects – no higher qualifications or degrees are required. The Generation easyJet Pilot Training Programme takes aspiring pilots from little to no flying experience, to operating a commercial passenger jet in around two years with its intensive, industry-leading training course.

The Generation easyJet Pilot Training Programme is now open for aspiring pilots to apply at http://becomeapilot.easyjet.com/

ENDS

 For further information, please contact the easyJet Press Office on 01582 525252, log onto www.easyJet.com or follow @easyJet_Press

 

Notes to editors:

Generation easyJet Pilot Training Programme

Entry Criteria:

  • Be aged 18 or over to commence training (by course start date)

  • The right to work with unrestricted access across EEA, EU, UK and Switzerland 

  • Provide official certificates that demonstrate you have passed the High School/Secondary School exams for Maths / English / any Science, along with 2 other subjects

  • Be fluent in English (verbal and written)

  • Minimum height 5’ 2” (157cm) with maximum commensurate with Airbus flight deck requirements

  • Be able to obtain an EASA or CAA Class 1 medical as required for the relevant license

About the programme:

To apply to the Generation easyJet Pilot Training Programme, aspiring pilots will need to be aged 18 or over by the time they begin training and have a minimum of 5 General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) of Grade C or above (or equivalent), including Mathematics, Science and English language – no higher qualifications or degrees are required.

The programme will deliver a seamless training experience, from ground school training to full-flight simulation under 2 years. Aspiring pilots, on easyJet Multi-Crew Pilot Licence (MPL) course will complete their ground school classes in one of CAE’s European aviation academy locations including CAE Brussels, CAE Madrid, CAE London Gatwick. They will then take to the skies, at a CAE fair weather flying location, before completing their training by learning to fly commercial jets on state-of-the-art full-flight simulators at CAE Milan and CAE London Gatwick training centres. Cadets will then join easyJet on Airbus A320 aircraft at airports across Europe.

About easyJet

easyJet is Europe’s leading airline offering a unique and winning combination of the best route network connecting Europe's primary airports, with great value fares and friendly service.

easyJet flies on more of Europe’s most popular routes than any other airline and carried more than 69 million passengers in 2022 – with 9.5 million travelling for business. The airline has over 300 aircraft on nearly 1000 routes to more than 150 airports across 35 countries. Over 300 million Europeans live within one hour's drive of an easyJet airport.

easyJet aims to be a good corporate citizen, employing people on local contracts in eight countries across Europe in full compliance with national laws and recognising their trade unions. The airline supports several local charities and has a corporate partnership with UNICEF which has raised over £16m for the most vulnerable children since it was established in 2012.

The airline joined the UN-backed Race to Zero in November 2021 and has published its roadmap to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with a focus on new technology and the ultimate ambition to achieve zero carbon emission flying across its entire fleet, which the airline is working on together with its partners including Airbus, Rolls-Royce, GKN Aerospace, and Cranfield Aerospace Solutions. The roadmap also features a combination of fleet renewal, operational efficiencies, airspace modernisation, Sustainable Aviation Fuel and carbon removal technology. Additionally, it includes an interim carbon emissions intensity reduction target of 35% by 2035 (versus 2019). Since 2000, the airline has already reduced its carbon emissions per passenger, per kilometre by one-third through continued fleet renewal, efficient operations and aiming to fill most of its seats.

Innovation is in easyJet’s DNA – since launching over 25 years ago, easyJet changed the way people fly to the present day where the airline leads the industry in digital, web, engineering and operational innovations to make travel more easy and affordable for its passengers.

About CAE

At CAE, we equip people in critical roles with the expertise and solutions to create a safer world. As a technology company, we digitalize the physical world, deploying simulation training and critical operations support solutions. Above all else, we empower pilots, airlines, defence and security forces, and healthcare practitioners to perform at their best every day and when the stakes are the highest. Around the globe, we’re everywhere customers need us to be with more than 13,000 employees in more than 200 sites and training locations in over 40 countries. CAE represents 75 years of industry firsts — the highest-fidelity flight, mission, and medical simulators, and personalized training programs powered by artificial intelligence. We’re investing our time and resources into building the next generation of cutting-edge, digitally immersive training and critical operations solutions while keeping positive environmental, social and governance (ESG) impact at the core of our mission. Today and tomorrow, we’ll make sure our customers are ready for the moments that matter.

Read our FY22 Annual Activity and Corporate Social Responsibility Report.

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