As the aviation industry gradually recovers, airlines such as airBaltic have been opening up new bases and taking in deliveries of additions to the fleet. The aircraft will not fly by itself, so airBaltic has started a recruitment drive for 120 additional pilots, including the airBaltic Pilot Academy graduates.

Interested candidates must have EU citizenship, a valid EU FCL CPL or ATPL license, and at least 300 hours of Commercial Air Transport operations on aircraft with EFIS, FMA, and FMS systems. Additionally, the maximum take-off weight of the previously-operated aircraft must be at least 5.7 tonnes. Prospective pilots should also keep in mind that airBaltic operates an exclusively all-Airbus A220-300 fleet of aircraft.

Getting back into the industry

In the past few months, recruitment drives from airlines have been rapidly increasing, as staffing shortages have begun interfering with the airlines' ability to ramp up their schedules. Despite passenger demand and flight schedules rapidly reaching near or even on-par with pre-pandemic levels, the return of aviation jobs worldwide is still falling relatively short.

airBaltic, New Employees, Fully Vaccinated
airBaltic hired nearly 560 employees last year but is still looking for additional staff to cater to the increasing operations and the possibility of staff falling ill. Photo: airBaltic

Hiring pilots remains the most prominent problem for the airlines as training new hires takes time. The rehiring of former employees has been trickier due to wage and age limitations. Nonetheless, the recruitment drive for airBaltic is still an excellent opportunity for former employees of the aviation industry who had not yet gotten back into their old companies or jobs.

As a matter of fact, airBaltic is keen on recruiting previous employees who were made redundant due to the pandemic, regardless of prior designation and company, as highlighted by Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic:

“While we continue to employ our airBaltic Pilot Academy graduates and rehire former employees, this time, our needs for additional staff reach further, meaning that we are looking for external pilots to join our company. Additional pilots are required to prepare the airline for [the] capacity we will fly in summer 2023.”

Currently, airBaltic employs 315 pilots, within its total of more than 1,600 employees. The airline seeks to continue active recruitment throughout this year and aims to hire at least an additional 500 employees. In terms of open vacancies, airBaltic has more than 40 availabilities ranging from pilots and cabin crew to aircraft maintenance, and even IT.

Back on a growth path

The past couple of years has impacted airBaltic, as the airline has not yet been able to return to profitability. Ever since the introduction of the EU Digital Covid Certificate and the lifting of restrictions in Latvia, airBaltic has been back on a growth path, starting with its fleet. The Latvian carrier currently has 34 Airbus A220-300s, and the number is set to grow to at least 40 by the end of the year.

airBaltic A220 Fleet
One of airBaltic's newest Airbus A220-300 has been making stops within the Asia-Pacific region to show off the aircraft's capabilities. Photo: airBaltic

After that, airBaltic will be expecting more deliveries next year for further expansions. These will align with the airline's plans to further expand its network out of Riga, Tallinn, and Vilnius. Possible developments would include expansion into Asia-Pacific, as the airline recently brought out its newest fleet addition YL-ABH on an Asia-Pacific tour.

As airBaltic continues to ease back into normal operations and beyond, the airline is hoping that it can return to making profit in 2023.