London-based aviation consultant Colibri Aircraft has said that the growing pilot shortage complicates the sale of private jets, and it believes this problem will get worse as airlines retire current pilots and recruit from the private jet sector, and as growing markets in Asia and the Middle East are attracting more European pilots.

The company says that in around seven out of every 10 sales it works on there are difficulties in being able to guarantee sufficient access to a pilot or crew. Five years ago only around 20 per cent of cases Colibri Aircraft worked on were affected by this problem.

Managing director Oliver Stone says: “Europe needs around 95,000 new commercial pilots by 2034. Many airlines are looking to the business aviation sector to help fill this gap leaving fewer pilots available to fly private aircraft. The pilot shortfall is a combination of several factors including the legal retirement age for pilots being set at 65, and growing demand for pilots from overseas markets, especially Asia and the Middle East.

“We are increasingly having to research in the early stages of an acquisition how clients plan to crew their aircraft. If they decide to only hire one full-time pilot and rely on contract crew, they increasingly run the risk of not having crew available when they want to fly.”

The easiest solution for an owner is to pay a higher monthly cost and have three full-time pilots available when they want to fly. Another option is to consider an operator that already has crew on its certificate that they can use. Stone adds: “Jet ownership should be a means of making your life easier, but right now crew availability is a real issue affecting ownership and usage that increasingly has to be considered before making a purchase.”