Pilot Training Challenges in Australia

1. Introduction

1.1 Background Information

Flying most of the military jets is one of the most expensive businesses around the world. The costs involved have compelled most of the air arms to re-examine the potential savings through outsourcing the training tasks facilitated by private companies. Notably, general aviation, consisting of the activities of flying than just military training and airlines, in Australia has been at the centre of the discourse given that is stands out as the recruiting ground for most of the airline pilots for both the international and Australian airlines. Due to market dynamics, there has been a persistent shortage in terms of the airline pilots for the past five years. This is accompanied by a loss in interest in taking flight training among many students in Australia. The possible increase in demand puts the efforts of the Australian aviation industry in question as regards career development, which is expected to contain the shortage the market is encountering. As much as the blame goes to the training partners, the choice of becoming one of the airline pilots is becoming more difficult and challenging due to the changes done on the CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) regulations. The restrictions and regulations are essentially applied to the flight schools. As a result of the changes, most of the organizations chose to close their centres, leading to a tremendous decline in the number of qualified pilots with numbers dropping by over 30% for the past five years. Besides, the increased demand for trained pilots is highly fuelled by the fleet growth, as well as the retirement of pilots who are of age. The most recent study by Boeing noted that 637000 pilots might be needed in the next twenty years. On the other hand, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) indicated that the Asia Pacific region might demand around 230000 pilots by 2030. It is of note that the Australian aviation industry’s ability to recruit the trainees, as well as sustain the viable flight training market is a critical factor for Australia to uphold the enviable record attached to safety excellence. Based on this background, the scope identifies the research gap that revolves around comparison of the marketing strategies, as well as efforts of the military and civil aviation pertaining pilot training that would address the increasing demand in Australia. The gap also narrows down to producing best strategies that would serve as a reference for any future endeavours in the Australian aviation industry.

1.2 Aim and Objectives

The main aim of this research is to compare marketing strategies used in civil aviation and military in regards to pilot training. This is supported by the following objectives.

To compare civil aviation and military pilot training in Australia

To examine marketing strategies used by military and civil aviation while attracting students towards pilot training

To explore opportunities and actions needed in successful marketing of pilot training

To highlight best marketing strategies in pilot training that can be recommended for future purposes

1.3 Scope of the research

The scope of the research entails comparison of marketing flight training in military and general aviation schools. This will be accompanied by exploration of the actions and opportunities needed in marketing such a product like pilot training. Use of anecdotal evidence would only point at the suggestions of military applications for pilot training being highly competitive. However, the comparison would be used to establish the most efficient strategies to be used in marketing the same product.

2. Literature Review

This section looks at the theories, concepts, and findings from other cases studies. The findings are linked to either a single section of the research topic, or a significant section of the scope of the research. The following sections provide a review of different studies.

2.1. General aviation and military pilot training

Billings (2018) asserts that even when pilot training remains significant, the concepts and differences between general aviation and military training are always important. Billings (2018) indicates that general or civil aviation conjure meaning of a simple and small engine-powered aircraft. However, the latter seems to be a mental image created among people. The exact meaning revolves round an unscheduled airline that includes personal and commercial flights. The common commercial activities known to the Australian aviation industry include the agricultural trips, flight training, and utility inspection among others. Fan (2017) asserts that the general use of civil aviation is slightly different from military aviation, which insists on the use of the flying machines and aircraft for the fundamental reasons of enabling the aerial warfare, national airlift, and provision of logistical supply. Military aviation, as the name suggests, mostly supports military activities. For instance, some of missions supported by the military aviation include the close air support, which tackles the hostile targets. The close air support is more common in United States that it is in Australia. Apart from the close air support, the history of military aviation points at the historical use of the lighter balloons before the heavy-than-air aircraft came in use. While most of the military aviation activities revolved wars, defence and attacks, the current activities involve part of the civil operations as stated under the stealth technology among others. The common difference between general aviation and military aviation revolves around the fact that the former is not scheduled, and the latter is scheduled. The understanding of the two sides helps students to quickly choose the side they want to pursue as part of their career. Standards that apply on both sides are also different due to the nature of activities involved as stated by Billings (2018). However, the new CASA regulation has send an equal impact on both sides, which amounts to serious issues that affects the stability of the Australian airlines.

2.2 Marketing strategies used by military and civil aviation while attracting students towards pilot training

The thought of marketing strategies is thought to suit the context of pilot training given the increase in the demand for airline services. Ryan (2016) indicates that marketing strategies showcase the game plan meant to find clients as well as customers that will be part of the business. This can be related to development of the marketing programs like promotional mix, channel structure, and product offering. While businesses can be exposed to a myriad of marketing strategies, Ryan (2016) notes that there are three significant strategies that need to be into consideration when developing the most convenient strategy for the business. The three include strategic integration, configuration-coordination, and standardization-adaptation. The standardization-adaptation dimension narrows down to the same or different product or service, marketing mix and distributional channels (Bamber 2018). The dimension presumes that global markets are more homogenized by the transportation and communication technology (Horner and Swarbrooke 2016). Consumers across the world would base their standards on the cultural backgrounds, the spending power, shopping patterns and the needs and wants, and the product preferences. The configuration dimension looks the upstream, internal value-adding and downstream activities, while the concentration dimensions invests in the advantages a business would realize from concentrating the activities (Mistilis et al. 2014). Lastly, the strategic integration is more focused on the competitive batted. This is accompanied by the success of the marketing strategy, which needs to cut across different markets. The thought of marketing strategies can also be extended to both the general aviation and the military aviation. Zhou et al (2018) point at the possibilities of adopting what is already in use by the travel and tourism industry. Given that the civil aviation constitutes commercial services, the marketing mix cannot be avoided by any means possible. The Western Australia, for instance, has consistently witnessed a growth in the tourism industry and the available resources seem to be overcrowded. Both the accommodation as well as the hospitality prices is high. The Pilbara region, for example, is facing the danger of high airfares with extreme shortages noted in terms of the aircrafts and the accommodation services. Notably, the interstate market is more constrained and key players in general aviation have consistently been called upon to introduce low-cost carriers that target the middle class. With the rise of interstate and intrastate tourism, states such as Queensland need to observe on the airfares. Zhou et al (2018) categorically state that the pricing strategy is the ultimate deal where the general aviation needs to keep an eye on low cost carriers for long term reasons. The thought of quality as well as affordable air services is saleable and is more applicable in such states like Western Australia and Queensland where tourism industry is growing at a faster rate. Low prices can also be extended to training opportunities, which should foster absorption of new and fresh skills. Such skills can be nurtured towards meeting the increase in demand. The promotional strategy is also evident in the way the quality of the training ensures development of skills that impacts the kind of products delivered to consumers, and observing proper safety standards (Hair et al. 2015). Therefore, it is appropriate enough to consider the fact that the civil aviation does not move far from the marketing mix when attracting new skills in the industry.

Different from civil aviation, the marketing strategies in military aviation take a different course. Schmitz et al (2018) indicates that military aviation adopts the overarching personnel strategy where people are inspired with the recruiter who is exposed on the television or even social media platforms. The marketing model in aviation adopts a set of principles that facilitate interactive communication. Today, the Australian forces chose to enhance awareness regarding pilot training through outreach programs that constitute the sporting event sponsorship (Zhang et al. 2018). The program has a marketing target that revolves round luring recruits that were unwilling at first, into the military experience that includes commitment to military life. The social dynamics, over the time, have however changed the taste of the market. Due to such dynamics, countries like Australia and United Kingdom are tuning towards target market segmentation, which is included in the customized communication plans (Moyle et al. 2014). Perhaps, most of the millennial need information and awareness before most of them would pick on pilot training. Different from Australia and United Kingdom, the United States resolved to niche marketing as one way of responding towards long term dynamics (Braithwaite 2017). Changes in technology and the digital landscape, however, makes digital media the most dominating channel that would extend awareness at a faster rate (Tuten and Solomon 2017). In general, the common factor between civil aviation and military aviation revolves around the fact that both sides respond towards technological dynamics in almost a similar way.

2.3 Opportunities and actions needed in successful marketing of pilot training

From the earlier reviewed studies, it is evident that the Australian aviation market will be in need of the pilots. However, it is not clear enough if both the general aviation and military aviation has identified the gap in the market or not. However, Sampson et al (2018) state that the success of any industry in the modern era lies behind technology. Most millennial are netizens and would comfortably enjoy making use of any platform supported on internet. The dominance of social media is unquestionable and should therefore, be given the most deserving attention both by the general aviation and military aviation platforms (Zeng and Gerritsen 2014). Therefore, technology in itself is an opportunity that needs to be explored. Perhaps, this informs on the call to eliminate all the traditional methods, which seems to affect the attitude of the generation that is enjoying all that is provided in the information ear. Sampson et al (2018) insist on the need to engage social media through all angles as the key players make attempt of accessing as many young people as possible. Secondly, with a curriculum that already has aviation studies in Australia; the industry has an opportunity of nurturing young talents from the time students join university. This helps the industry to be part of the curriculum and can recommend changes at the earliest stages of career development. Biswas and Hazra (2016) suggested that for the industry to realize successful marketing, it has to consider significant actions. First, the key players should take part in the state-specific information that regards demand drivers, and understanding the aviation planning process (Vila et al. 2015. Secondly, the key players should consistently assess and forecast the aviation activities and performance thereby giving the economic scenario of the marketing strategies. In addition, the need for asset management confirms applicable processes, procedures, and plans that support certain strategies from the time they are implemented, to the time they are assessed or evaluated. This ensures that the key players check on the performance of pilot training, and whether there is a change in the number of potential recruits.

2.4 Best marketing strategies to be used for pilot training

Pilot training is not a product that can be consumed in one day but a life commitment that one delves into as part of career development. Vellas (2016) takes note of the young students who may want to take the piloting path as part of their career but the regulations would rarely allow them. Vellas (2016) further insists that products and services characterized by a life commitment demand a more personalized approach, which sounds more convincing. Marketing campaigns are thought to be more convenient and paves way for dialogue in most instances. First, the aviation schools ought to recognize the training grounds by making adverts both in local newspapers and profound social media platforms. Brown and Hanlon (2016) confirmed that the potential customers need to be aware that a service, in this case pilot training exists. However, Australian has the most conspicuous training schools whose attendance has gone down due to regulations in the industry. Secondly, one-on-one campaigns are more recommendable, especially where celebrities are capitalized. For instance, Brown and Hanlon (2016) indicate that an aviation school can offer a free flight to one of the celebrities, who may have a significant impact on the millions of followers. Such campaigns can still be extended to ceremonies and events such as graduations where the aviation schools can extend awareness regarding pilot training (Maurino et al. 2017). The US military pilot training has been doing such campaigns for the purposes of attracting young students in pursuing pilot training. Australian aviation industry is still on course in terms of adopting such campaigns that give room for one-on-one talks. Besides, aviation schools should partner with local businesses in towns and small urban centres. This expands the informative platform that goes alongside placing banners at strategic points. Local shops and businesses are thought to be close to more consumers. Therefore, they provide a basis for development of a network that touches on young people who would wish to take the training. Lastly, social media and social networking sites are equally important. Vellas (2016) clearly states that technology has an impact on the lives of people and what they consumer. Therefore, the thought of social media is viable in the context of successful marketing. It has been used in hosting online campaigns. The most dominant platform for such campaigns is Facebook, which hosts millions of users around the world. The pervasive nature of social media platforms is believed to tap into a young population that has the right talent and skills within the Australian peripherals. Therefore Vellas (2016) and Brown and Hanlon (2016) have common findings on the nature of a service or product, and the commitment people are likely to have towards such services and products. It is of note that the intensity and longevity of product or service commitment determines the time a person has to take before purchasing such a product, or paying for a service. This confirms the intensity of the marketing strategies that have to be involved as confirmed by Gellings and Parmenter (2016).

3. Research methodology

Research methodology constitutes techniques and procedures directed towards identification, selection, processing as well as analysis of information related to a specified research topic. In this case, the focus on marketing pilot training in Australia calls for a case study method, and data collection.

3.1 Case Study method

The research adopts the qualitative case study methodology, which avails tools for the scholars and researchers in studying complex phenomena in different but harmonious contexts. The method provides an explorative value to the research due to presentation of a variety of sources of data. Such a value ensures that the topic under research is explicitly explored and the phenomenon is eventually revealed. Studying the marketing strategies in Australia for pilot training conforms to the constructivist paradigm, which is normally applied alongside case studies (Hyett et al. 2014). The paradigm claims that truth would always be relative and largely depends on the individual perspective. To a large extent, the paradigm relates the social construction to reality while presenting applicable arguments in different contexts. The case study approach is said to be advantageous, especially in this research, because of a number of reasons. First, the behaviours and conditions cannot be manipulated with the purpose of favouring certain or more specific outcomes (Pearson et al. 2015). Secondly, the contextual conditions covered in this research are more connected to the phenomenon being studied. Finally, case study method is cheap and faster in terms of data collection. The only thing a researcher wants is the previous case studies and researchers which should be closely related to the research topic under study. This means some of the case studies should carry significant properties that would appear in the findings of the study or research under consideration.

3.2 Data Collection

Data collection is regarded as a process that entails gathering information against or for particular variables of interest. The process is conducted in a systematic fashion that allows the researcher to respond to the research questions and the test hypotheses. However, this research adopts the secondary data research where secondary sources will be engaged in facilitation of viable and eligible details that would serve as the findings (Baxter and Jack 2016). Across the secondary research, the study will make use of document review as the most appropriate tool for data collection. The process will, therefore, rely on the existing records such as financial documents, annual and monthly reports, as well as activity logs among others. The research will depend on the details from case studies captured in the Royal Australian Air Force website, Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) website, the Australian Industry Standards and other articles related to the Australian aviation industry (Bretschneider 2017). Results from the research process will give room for sound recommendations believed to impact flight training meant to contain the critical shortage of pilots in the aviation industry.

4. Presentation of findings

This section gives the results of the research process, and provides analysis of the key areas mentioned in the findings. The section also connects the findings to the reviewed case studies handled before in this research.

4.1 Analysing the data

The research reviewed a total of four websites and two reports, which proposed the following strategies as tabulated below.

The six sources considered for review almost gave interrelated findings concerning the marketing strategies aligned to pilot training in Australia. For the Royal Australian Air Force, the website gave details on partnerships, digital marketing, and marketing campaigns as the key areas that can support marketing the pilot training. On the side of partnerships, the Australian Air Force fosters on creating an Air Force Shop that provides requisite details to recruits, undertakes young people through the structure and functions of the aviation, and inspires individuals in joining pilot training (Royal Australia Air Force 2018). The website also posted links to social media accounts, which pointed at digital marketing. The accounts tap into the millennial population, which makes use of internet and mobile technology. Some of the social media links include https://www.facebook.com/AusAirForce, https://www.instagram.com/AusAirForce, https://twitter.com/Aus_AirForce, https://www.linkedin.com/company/AusAirForce, https://www.youtube.com/c/AirForceHQ, https://www.facebook.com/AirForceBand, https://www.facebook.com/RAAF.Roulettes and https://www.facebook.com/RAAF.Museum among others. The Air Force also suggests more on marketing campaigns, which are showcased in the World Parachute Championship. However, the site does not give many details regarding the event but a dimensional look at the intent of the Air Force seemingly takes care of both the Civil and military aviation. The Australian Government Civil Aviation Safety Authority website also provided significant details regarding face-to-face marketing, digital marketing. The career focus by CASA looks at supporting young talents by extending professional services to young people. The CASA team delves into the AvSafety Seminar, which largely responds to the essentials of pilot skills at the Port Lincoln Flying Club. CASA further informs on digital marketing where the authority extends it presence on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook as well (CASA 2018). Finally, CASA informs on marketing campaigns supported by seminars and exhibitions, which also support the face-to-face approach. However, CASA leans more towards civil aviation than it does to military one. On the other hand, the “Military Aircraft Avionics Market Report 2018-2028 – Vision-gain Report” had a significant focus on military aviation that supports advertisements, partnerships, and programs (Vision-Gain 2018). This also coincides with the functions of the Air Force Shop established by the Royal Australian Air Force. Moreover, the “Aviation Occurrence Statistics 2007 to 2016” pointed at the pricing strategy and promotions, which are part of the civil aviation that supports commercial functions (ATSB 2018). The statistics established the fact that general aviation has been applying the two strategies in facilitating services across Australia. Despite the rate of accidents and collisions, promotions and introduction of low-cost services are thought to have attracted the attention of both customers and the young recruits. Similar findings could be noted in the “Australian Industry Standards 2018 key findings discussion paper” where pricing and digital marketing are given a priority (Australian Industry Standards 2018). While pricing involves low costs and charges, digital marketing constitutes technological dynamics that impacts networking and social interactions. Lastly, “Prime marketing delivers a vision of the future” focused on prime marketing as the profound strategy that is applicable to both the civil and military aviation (StaffWriters 2016). This constitutes lending services that makes key stakeholders in the economy to be bonded to the service providers. However, this may have less or reduced applications in the aviation industry due to high costs and insecurity on the side of the lenders.

4.2 Reflection on Findings

The findings seemingly established two categories of strategies that are applicable to the civil aviation and military aviation. Strategies in support of civil aviation pilot training seeming received more attention from CASA. These include digital marketing, face-to-face marketing, pricing strategy, promotional strategy, and prime marketing. These strategies have a common characteristic of pulling masses for the purposes of increasing consumption, which in turn results in high profits (Nagle and Müller 2017). The strategies find the most convenient place in commercial functions, which are highly upheld in civil aviation. The same reason can be extended to attracting recruits to undertake pilot training, with the central purposes of meeting the increased demand for airline services as well as tapping into new and promising markets (Francis et al. 2017). The findings can be well connected to the case studies undertaken by Zhou et al (2018) and Ryan (2016) where they argued that general aviation mainly supports commercial services seen in the case of Western Australian and Queensland. With commercial functions in place, Zhou et al (2018) purposes that the marketing mix cannot be avoided. The scope of the marketing mix is drawn towards the prices, product, promotion and distribution or place. With the quality of services and products being given attention, the same marketing mix can also be used to attract young students into pursuing pilot training (De Mooij 2018). The marketing mix is applicable in the sense that the training program is made affordable, the quality of skills is alleviated, and the training program can be offered at convenient places, such as online platforms. On the other hand, military aviation is strongly centred on face-to-face marketing, partnerships, workshops, digital marketing, competitions, and advertisements. It is evident that military aviation is not focused on profits or any other commercial goals, but it is focused more on providing quality. The findings can easily be linked to the reviewed case of Schmitz et al (2018), which points at the overarching personnel strategy. The reviewed case indicate that military forces preferably concentrate on outreach programs, which take the recruiting team close to the potential candidates and customers. This means that military aviation may take time to resonate with the dynamics witnessed in the world of marketing. Schmitz et al (2018) indicated that military aviation may be interested in digital marketing. However, the marketing efforts of military aviation strongly revolve around personal interaction with talents, abilities, and skills in the field. This is the reason as to why the Australian Air Force had to introduce an Air Force Shop that was intended to market the aviation by tapping into skills and talents from the immediate community.

5. Implication and recommendations

The findings clearly show that the civil aviation is controlling the largest share of the industry with regards to the many functions it serves. Most of the functions in general aviation are commercial based and its dominance is well resonated with the marketing strategies it applies. While regulations seem to dismiss the dreams of pursuing pilot training, civil aviation still stands a better chance of making use of such strategies like pricing, promotion, digital marketing, and face-to-face marketing in luring the new recruits (Lovelock and Patterson 2015). The findings also imply that military aviation is not exploitative due to its limited base that touches on few but risky functions and activities. As much as workshops, partnerships and advertisements make military aviation a significant part of the industry, its performance is way below. The same can still be extended to pilot training. However, a few recommendations can be made towards marketing strategies for pilot training (Grant 2016). First, the aviation industry needs to assess the key players in the industry and their contribution towards pilot training. This will ensure the emergency of synergies that focus on performance. Secondly, military aviation should work on more partnerships with players from civil aviation.

6. Conclusion

The research invested resources in investigating the marketing strategies applied in military aviation and civil aviation when engaging pilot training. The application of the document review, as the data collection method, and case study, as the research methodology, the research found out that the civil aviation is putting up a better performance than military aviation. This is based on the improvisation of the marketing mix that takes care of all marketing conditions, which surround the recruitment of young students in undertaking pilot training. However, the research recommends that the industry should work on synergies that can boost the outcomes.

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