ACP445 Pilot Hiring Outlook 2026

Well, we've already answered the question if you should become a pilot in 2026, but in

this episode, we're going to talk about my predictions for hiring in 2026 and take a deeper

dive into that, because that's really important.

What's going to happen in the future?

And of course, I've got my crystal ball, so that helps a little bit as far as, you know,

being able to determine whether hiring is going to happen or not this year.

I joke about that.

I got the crystal ball because you know what, no matter how much we think we know about

predicting the future and hiring, there's a little bit of risk and nobody gets it just

right.

So some people, they look into a crystal ball and they get it right.

But in this, we're going to do some deep dive into some true analysis, not just looking

at that crystal ball.

By the way, if you want monthly updates, we do have that group career coaching, and you

can find that more at aviation careers podcast.com slash coaching, both are one on one.

And our group coaching, you can find out more there.

But first of all, let's just talk about hiring outlook, 2026.

It is a great thing.

Hiring is on the rise.

And in my estimation, and these are the estimates I get from talking to the CFOs, COOs,

and some CEOs.

And of course, the hiring managers at the different airlines that I help with recruiting

towards.

And those people are saying anywhere from all the numbers I've added up between 250 to

750 pilots per month, and that's in the majors and the regionals, et cetera.

That actually could be on the low side, I think, but 250 is incredibly conservative.

And the reason I'm saying 250 to 750 is because certain months, they hire more than at other

months.

And so this is the time to get your ratings, get everything finished, and move forward.

Maybe it's the time to think about getting your ATP, et cetera.

But let's go deep dive into what we can do.

And by the way, if you're looking for money to pay for some of your ratings, we do have

that scholarship guide.

And our podcast is sponsored by somebody who actually helps with actually going out there

and funding your education, and that's Stratus Finance.

And they're also giving away some scholarship skies.

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Again our pilot outlook, hiring outlook for 2026, we're looking at 250 to 750.

And what's happening, and this is just from my experience with the clients that we have

both in our one-on-one and in our group mentorship, is we're seeing multiple offers happening

again. For the longest time, we're seeing people not get hired.

But really what's happening is, we're seeing these three different sections of hiring.

There's a high medium and low hours, okay?

So let's first talk about the high hours and what your goal should be period.

And that's gaining 3,000 hours total and 1,000 PIC turbine, so you can get hired by the

major airlines or by a 135 or a corporate job of your choice, okay?

So 3,000 total, 1,000 PIC turbine, it sounds like a lot, but that should be your ultimate

goal. And don't take the gas off until your foot off the pedal until you get to that

point. So make sure you keep working hard to get to that point, that 3,000 hours and

1,000 PIC turbine.

So that tier is starting to see a lot of hiring happening.

The majors, they didn't hire quite enough last year.

They're starting to hire more this year.

And what happens is it pulls people up.

So now where do they get those people from?

They get them from the next tier down, and that's the regionals.

And the regional pilots are starting to leave to the majors.

Now what that's doing is, it's bringing down the qualifications for the regionals.

You know, just about six months ago, and we're in January of 2026.

Six months ago, we were seeing people get hired with 2,500 hours at the regionals to

be competitive.

Now it's come back down to 1,500 hours.

So this is your second tier.

First tier, of course, going to the major, second tier is looking at the regionals and more

of the high time 135 type of jobs.

The thing that you need to do is set yourself apart.

And how do you do that?

One of the ways you can do that is by making yourself look better and get out there and network

more.

How do you make yourself look better?

You go on LinkedIn, make your profile better.

Make your profiles look better on Facebook, whatever social media you use, make your resume

better.

Of course, we go over all those things in our group coaching.

And that is one of the things I think that's really important right now to set yourself

apart.

It's the little things, those little things that you can do that can make you different.

The other thing that can actually set you apart is the possibility of some additional

ratings.

If you have the money and you have the time, look towards getting your ATP.

Finish your CTP ATP.

If you have the money or time, or if you looked in our scholarships guide, and you won

one of those scholarships, get yourself a type rating.

I mean, if you can afford the type rating, then go for it.

The only thing is look for a type rating that's going to work and that's not that expensive.

Definitely enough, many times the Airbus and the 737 type ratings can be less than some

of these corporate type ratings and some of these small corporate jets.

That's, there's a big supply and demand.

There's a lot more people doing the actual larger airlines and have, so again, there's

a lot more people out there and a lot more supply, so the prices are a little bit lower

than if you're going to go out and get a specific rating, a specific corporate jet.

Just take a look.

Look at the people that do type ratings.

That's one of the things you can do.

I'm not saying everybody should do that.

That's one of those things that you should think about.

The other thing you need to do is look at the fact that maybe you can do something different

to get those regional jobs.

Maybe it's time to set yourself apart by building hours.

Join as many cadet and pathway programs as you can.

This is the time that if you don't have your degree, finish up your degree.

Again, we have to really do all these things in an efficient manner and do one of those

things at a time.

Take one of those.

Work real hard at it.

Maybe it's something like you want to get your, say, a CF-DI, maybe you're an instructor

and get your double eye.

You're not an instructor.

Get your CF-I, get your double eye.

Look at your ATP.

We talked about that.

Maybe even look at getting a C-plane rating, something different to set yourself apart.

The most important thing is to constantly build your hours and build your time and build

those ratings because right now we're looking at this part of the marketplace that's really

the toughest.

Let's take a look at the third tier.

The third tier and at the bottom is the ones with the low time jobs.

Those are the introductory CF-I jobs.

Those are the jobs where you really also need to network yourself into.

In those arenas, that's where you need to also set yourself apart at a bigger flight school.

You still need to get yourself a double eye.

You still need to set yourself apart.

Maybe become a multi-engine instructor.

There's a lot of jobs out there that will hire people with a multi-engine instructor.

If you want to spread a wide net, but if you want to go work at a flight school and build

lots of hours, that's what you need to do is get your CF-I.

Another way to get yourself into some of those low time jobs or instructing jobs, even

at some clubs, flight schools, what I want you to do is this.

If you go to a school and they say they're not hiring, you can do something else.

You can tell them, hey, listen, I'm going to bring you a client.

I'm going to teach that person here and that's the only person I'm going to teach here.

If I have other clients that I bring in, can I teach them here also?

Most schools will say, sure, you can teach, but we have our other instructors who are giving

priority to and only the ones that you bring in will let you teach.

What happens is this, you become a good instructor.

If you're in a marketplace, we are teaching students that are actually from the local community,

that's where you're going to get your students from and that's how you build your business

there.

It's a little different at some of the larger schools that are strictly like airline type

of academies because you're not bringing as many students in, they're doing it through

their marketing.

You may be, but those are some of the things that you need to look at.

Look at marketing, look at making yourself more competitive, making yourself look better,

building hours, building ratings, and make yourself eligible for many different types of

jobs.

I talk about a C-plane rating, well, I have some clients that actually had their C-plane

rating, build some hours, wound up working for a 135 that flew C-planes, I was able to

build some hours flying C-planes.

That was one of the reasons I say that.

Am I telling you you should get your C-plane rating?

No, but look at those opportunities.

Look at it as an add-on to what you're doing, but do the things that I have the most impact

right now.

If you just started out and you got your CFI, get your double eye.

Now you can add to your repertoire another thing that will enable you to get a job, but

also the double eye sets you apart.

As a matter of fact, there's some people out there, some recruiters that prefer having

the double eye, the having an applicant that has their double eye.

The reason being is they know that you are working in the system and you've been working

in that environment of being a CFI.

Just remember this is that the environment has totally changed.

Where we were six months ago, it's better than that.

Where we see ourselves going in the future is different.

Focus, if you're looking to focus on certain airlines, focus on those airlines that are

going to benefit the most from this K-shape recovery.

You can look up what that means, but basically the people that are better off, the wealth

here and the people with higher incomes, are spending more on experiences, which includes

flying.

That is the thing that people are spending lots more money on and the airlines that are

focusing on premium products and services are the ones that are doing really well right

now.

There are other ones out there that are doing well and they're starting to hire again and

that's on the other side of that market.

That's a tougher market though, the low-cost carriers and that type of thing, but there are

some people who have figured that out and those are the airlines that are actually serving

those people have been underserved.

That's another market you can look at.

It's the ones that are squashed in the middle that are having the toughest time.

The premium airlines, people that have premium service, look up what airlines have the

best first-class service, focus on some of those is where you want to go because right

now that's where it's kind of moving towards.

Look at value airlines.

Airlines that have that first-class service, but don't charge an R-R-L-A. Look at going

to fly for those.

Most importantly, know this.

The market hiring in 2026, it's happening.

My prediction, 250 to 750 jobs per month is what we're looking at as far as hiring is concerned.

That sounds like a lot, but it really is, you know, it's a good amount.

It's not quite what it was before, but we're getting there and the great thing about it is

we're seeing airlines hiring.

But most importantly, this is what I want you to do for me today.

It's take one step towards your career goal.

Whatever that may be.

You might be looking at some of these programs, looking into your next rating, getting your

CFI if you don't have it, your double eye if you don't have it.

Look at getting your ATP, maybe getting your type rating, maybe saving towards getting

your type rating, maybe getting your type rating in an Airbus in a 737, or just reading.

Learning something new, you don't have to spend a lot of money.

Maybe you want to be able to fly in the system, but you don't have any money right now.

There's a lot of simulators out there that will enable you to go and fly online and get

that experience of Air Traffic Control.

But the most important thing you can do for me today is this.

I want you to take one step today to move forward in your career and in your life.

And you know what?

You'll get there sooner than anything.

Safe flying out there.

See you next episode.