At Pilot Careers Live Manchester on 13 July, British Airways reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the next generation of airline pilots by announcing the return of its popular Speedbird Academy for 2025.
First revealed at Pilot Careers Live Manchester in 2023, the Academy has already seen tens of thousands of applications pass through its system, with the first cadets now undertaking their theoretical knowledge training with partner approved training organisations (ATOs).
The Academy was first announced in July 2023 at Pilot Careers Live in Manchester as a 60-place fully-funded opportunity to train for a become a pilot with the airline.
The Academy application process saw 24,000 people apply, with 8,000 making it through to the second round – of which all 8,000 applications were then manually reviewed.
Repeating this multi-million-pound initiative again removes the high-cost barrier to professional pilot training, which can reach around £100,000. Read more about the costs of an ATPL in our feature.
The latest announcement has increased the total places to ‘upto’ 200, marking a sharp increase in the airline’s demand for new pilots.
