The pay is good for qualified pilots, however a career as a pilot will take its toll on your personal life - the travel is exciting, but it also comes with jetlag and time away from home. Becoming a pilot requires commitment, hard work (the training is ongoing) and the ability to work as part of a team. The aviation industry will always have its ups and downs, so resilience is key. What is your message to aspiring young pilots?īe resilient. Social media has been key in terms of reaching a wider audience and targeting our advertising for specific regions. Word of mouth recommendations have also been a powerful marketing tool for us. Around 50% of our intake is from Europe (20% of which is from Spain), and the other 50% is from elsewhere around the world (approximately 20% of which is from the Gulf states). We have 74 different countries represented in the school currently, including Tanzania and Brunei. Take something that works, then improve it. I’m a big believer in adopting a C&I (copy and improve) approach, rather than investing in R&D (research and development). We also offer six courses throughout the year, which means students can join every two months and its more cost effective in terms of managing instructor and marketing budgets. It’s not rocket science and I’m surprised this model isn’t more widely adopted. We’ve taken on the responsibility of ensuring the volume to drive the costs down. From the training to the class one medical, accommodation, food, exam fees, laptops, headphones and even uniforms, it’s all included in the price. Our model is straightforward – we have eliminated all the hidden costs and include everything in one €69,300 package. Given pilot training is very expensive, finding ways of keeping costs under control and competitive has been key to our success. It’s a more convenient location in terms of costs and logistics. One of the first changes I instigated when I joined FlyBy was to relocate the flight school from Bilbao to León. Last year we registered more operations than any other pilot training provider in the country and we are still growing. I’m proud of everything we have achieved to be named Spain’s largest flight school by Spanish airport operator, Aena. How did you transform FlyBy into Spain’s largest flight school? In addition to an injection of cash I also brought an outsider’s perspective and a different approach to running the business, which helped turn it around. That was in 2015 and FlyBy was on the brink of bankruptcy.
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However, I couldn’t see eye-to-eye with the owners on how to structure the financial model of the business so when the opportunity to take over FlyBy arose, I jumped at the chance. There was huge potential in the model we had created for the start-up school and I had secured investment to take it to the next level. With my background in project management, I was offered the opportunity to run a start-up flight school in Madrid. Then, following the global financial crisis of 2007 which had a huge impact on the construction industry, I made the decision to return to Spain. It was there that I got my first taste of flying an aircraft when my wife gifted me a discovery flight from Cranfield Airport for my 40th birthday. After three years of living in Buffalo, New York I relocated with my family to Milton Keynes in the UK. Having graduated as an industrial engineer with an executive MBA from the Instituto de Empresa (IE) Business School in Madrid I took a job as a product manager in a US-based engineering and construction company. You started out as an industrial engineer, who or what drove your move to a career in aviation? FlyBy CEO Alex Alvarez on running Spain’s largest flight school, his no nonsense business model and why effective communication with partners such as Air bp is key to his success
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