Ryanair has chosen world renowned international flight school Skyborne Airline Academy as the only UK-approved training provider for its Future Flyer Academy, which aims to create ‘hundreds’ of pilots to support the European low-cost carrier’s fleet expansion and renewal.
In a significant first for Skyborne and in keeping with Ryanair’s UK and EU AOC operating model, the Future Flyer Academy course will enable students to gain a dual UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) license.
Dual licensing provides career and operational flexibility for European pilots. It requires additional examinations, as Carla Booth, commercial director at Skyborne, describes: “Skyborne has approvals from the UK CAA and EASA to deliver this qualification pathway.
“Although flight and theory training for EASA and UK CAA pilot licenses are largely similar, students are required to complete a second set of Airline Transport Pilot License [ATPL] exams and an additional instrument rating test. For Future Flyer Academy students, these dual licenses are built into the course from day one and the costs are fully covered within the program.”
For students with no prior experience, the ab initio training route provided by Ryanair’s Future Flyer Academy will take them from zero flight hours through to an ATPL using a combination of classroom, simulator, and practical training.
Upon enrollment, trainees receive a conditional job offer. Once they complete their Integrated Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) with Skyborne, they join Ryanair as second officers. The program will train over 400 aspiring pilots over the next four years.
Skyborne Airline Academy commercial director Carla Booth. Image: Skyborne Airline Academy
Skyborne will deliver training at its Gloucestershire and Bournemouth, UK, airport facilities, and Vero Beach, in Florida. “After completing their theoretical knowledge training at Bournemouth or Gloucestershire, students will go on to single-engine flight training at Vero Beach,” Booth explains.
“They will then return to the UK for multi-engine IR [instrument rating] training and complete APS MCC with 40-hours of enhanced multi-crew training to airline pilot standards on our Boeing 737 MAX simulator, familiarizing them with Ryanair’s fleet type.”
Ryanair operates and all-Boeing 737 fleet. By combining initial training with he type rating qualification, Ryanair’s Future Flyer Academy can fast-track pilot training progression.
In previous visits to Skyborne’s Gloucestershire Airport training center, Runway Girl Network was impressed by the attitudes of staff and students; the Skyborne team works hard to create an airline-like ambience from the moment a student walks through the door.
“From the outset, students are immersed in a professional, inclusive and highly supportive training environment, founded upon advanced learning technologies, purpose-built training centers, a modern aircraft fleet and an experienced team of instructors and support staff,” says Booth.
Some of Skyborne’s students are very young. The company therefore takes its responsibility for their wellbeing very seriously.
“We are committed to shaping not just technically capable pilots, but confident, resilient professionals. We recognize that many students are living away from home for the first time, often in a high-pressure training setting. Our approach reflects that, with structured mentorship and welfare support, through our partnership with Red Umbrella, embedded into the program from day one,” Booth says.
Skyborne offers student accommodation close to Gloucestershire and Bournemouth airports, while Vero Beach boasts campus accommodation for more than 300 students and Skyborne has partnered with the Collegiate Housing Service for off-campus residences.
Booth emphasizes: “It is important to us that our students are in an environment where they can learn and study and have down time and enjoy the company of coursemates.”
Ryanair intends to operate a fleet of 800 aircraft by 2034. The airline’s chief operations officer, Neal McMahon, says: “Ryanair’s new Future Flyer Academy training program shows our continued commitment to supporting, developing, and recruiting aspiring pilots for future positions as we take delivery of over 300 Boeing 737 MAX-10 aircraft over the next 10 years.
“Ryanair looks forward to growing the careers of many more Skyborne pilot trainees through our Future Flyer Academy over the years to come.”
Applications for Ryanair’s Future Flyer Academy with Skyborne are now open. For more information visit the “Become a Pilot” section on careers.ryanair.com or apply at https://skyborne.com/uk/ryanair/.
Courses start in September 2025.
Skyborne Airline Academy commercial director Carla Booth (seated, left) celebrates the partnership announcement with Ryanair and Skyborne representatives. Image: Skyborne Airline Academy
Related Articles:
- British Airways champions diversity with new pilot training funds
- NEBOair pushes to make sustainable flight training take off in the UK
- Record-setting American aviator Shaesta Waiz on ignoring the naysayers
- Skyborne helps 19-year old Alisha Jassar pilot her way to airline career
- Vicky Gould: Forging an aviation career out of adversity
Featured image: Ryanair
Embedded images: Skyborne
