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The United Kingdom only has around four dozen trained F-35B fighter jet pilots and around 150 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet pilots. Losing even a handful of these hard-to-replace pilots to commercial airlines is painful. They are targeted by British airlines, with Virgin Atlantic directly targeting them in its recruitment ads in 2024. As the Royal Air Force is so much smaller than the United States Air Force (and Marines/Navy), it lacks depth in pilots.
Training an F-35 fighter jet pilot can cost around $10 million, and new pilots graduating annually in the UK are often measured in the single digits. With that being said, airlines will typically focus more on military transport pilots, such as those flying A330 MRTTs and A400Ms. Let’s examine how Virgin Atlantic seeks to attract ex-RAF pilots and why this is a major problem for the Royal Air Force (and Royal Navy).
The Ad Targeting RAF Fast Jet Pilots
In 2024, the publication London Loves Business wrote that “RAF pilots who have operated on F-35 B Lightning II, Typhoon FGR4 are being offered double their annual salary to join Virgin.” It adds that those pilots would be given routes to Barbados and New York to quit the RAF and fly with Virgin Atlantic. The report stated that the pilots were being offered around double the money that they would typically earn flying for the Royal Air Force. At the time, the Virgin Atlantic advert was reported to read:
“In order to be suitable, you must be operating, or have operated in the last three years on one of the following RAF Aircraft: F-35 B Lightning II, Typhoon FGR4. As a member of our Flight Crew, you will be joining the UK’s only exclusively long-haul airline. Flying out of London Heathrow to exciting destinations such as New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Delhi, Barbados, Antigua, and many more.”
The advert went on to say that Virgin Atlantic operates the “youngest, cleanest, and most technologically sophisticated” widebody aircraft. Virgin is unusual in exclusively operating a fleet of widebody aircraft. Airlines poaching trained fighter jet pilots is common in many countries, including the United States. For air forces, this can be devastating as it costs around ten million dollars to train a frontline fighter jet pilot and takes years to replace them.
British F-35B Fighter Pilots
In a typical Western air force, there should be around 1.3 to 1.5 trained pilots for every fast jet. That said, Britain (and other air forces) have struggled to maintain this figure. While the US military has around 37,000 military pilots, including in the USAF, Army (helicopters), Marines, Navy, and Coast Guard, the British military likely has around 2,500, of which around 1,500 are in the RAF and 500 are each in the Royal Navy and British Army.
In 2014, the British Government revealed that there were 1,760 trained regular pilots in the RAF (excluding reserves and other aircrew), although that number has likely declined somewhat over the last decade. However, fighter jet pilots are a small subset of the overall group of pilots. In late 2022, former Defense Secretary Ben Wallace revealed there were only 30 qualified British F-35 pilots, plus three exchange pilots. By 2023, that number had risen to 34, with seven more soon to graduate.
As of mid-2026, the RAF has received all of its initially ordered 48 F-38Bs, minus one that fell off an aircraft carrier. Ideally, the RAF should have around 60–70 or so trained F-35B pilots, but it is unclear how many there are. There have been reports that the ratio may be closer to one pilot per jet, suggesting the RAF may now have somewhere around 45 to 50 trained F-35B pilots. Headlines will often talk about the fighter jets, how many there are, and how ready they are, but pilot availability is often a more pressing bottleneck.
The RAF’s Fleet Of Eurofighter Typhoons
The RAF procured a total of 137 Eurofighter Typhoons. Of these, 26 of the Tranche 1 fighter jets have now been retired, leaving a fleet of four remaining. These are stationed at RAF Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands as the UK’s farthest air base with a permanent fighter jet presence. They are tasked to defend the islands from Argentina and are supported by A400Ms and A330 MRTTs (Voyagers).
The remaining Typhoons include 67 Tranche 2 and 40 Tranche 3 fighter jets. In January 2026, the British Government stated it would upgrade 40 of them with new radars and other systems. In July 2026, the budget was significantly increased, and it was reported that all would be upgraded. Britain had previously said the remaining four Tranche 1 fighter jets would retire in 2027, but now it is unclear.
Select aircraft of the Royal Air Force (per RAF) | |
|---|---|
F-35Bs (shared with Royal Navy) | 47 |
Eurofighter Typhoons | 107 |
Boeing P-8 Poseidon | 8 |
Airbus Voyager (A330 MRTT) | 14 |
Airbus A400M | 22 |
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III | 8 |
There has not been an equivalent public disclosure for how many Typhoon fighter jet pilots are serving in the RAF. A reasonable range would be 140-160 trained Typhoon pilots. This would give the RAF a group of up to 200 fast jet pilots in total. Additionally, as of June 2026, the Royal Air Force had 119 trainee fast-jet pilots progressing through the training pipeline, from RAF Cranwell to the point of starting an Operational Conversion Unit.
Helicopter Pilots Are Less Important In The UK
Beginning around 2015 and then accelerating after COVID-19, the US airline industry has faced an unprecedented pilot shortage. This has affected regional airlines in particular and is made worse by retiring baby boomers. In response, the industry moved to attract former US military helicopter pilots; previously, the focus had been on fixed-wing pilots.
One of the most famous examples was that of Frontier Airlines, which launched its Rotor Transition Program to help military helicopter pilots transition and receive their fixed-wing qualifications. The program has been so successful that, at the time of writing, Frontier’s website says:
“Due to the overwhelmingly positive response and large number of applications we received for our Rotor Transition Program, we have temporarily closed the application window. Keep an eye out for more information regarding the application window opening and future recruitment events.“
Meanwhile, there has not been the same recruitment drive in the UK as the UK airline industry is much smaller, the military is much smaller (only a few hundred helicopter pilots), and converting is less straightforward. Instead, British industry focuses on recruiting former RAF transport pilots, fast jet pilots, airline cadets, and airline pilots from other airlines.
Transitioning From Being A Military Pilot To A Commercial Pilot In The UK
In both the United States and the United Kingdom, it is relatively straightforward for fighter jet pilots to transition from flying fixed-wing military aircraft to flying commercial passenger jets. With that being said, the United States has built a considerably more mature and streamlined process. For ex-British fast-jet pilots, the primary challenge is obtaining the civilian licenses, certifications, and experience required by the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
The CAA does recognize military flying experience through its Military Aircrew Accreditation Scheme, meaning that transitioning pilots do not need to start from scratch. They can get credits toward their Commercial Pilot License, etc. That said, they still generally need to complete their ATPL theoretical knowledge tests, civilian flight tests, and so on.
The entire process of converting from military to commercial jets often takes six to twelve months, depending on how much training credit is granted and the airline course start date. In the US, the process typically takes around three to nine months. For comparison, for those starting from scratch in the UK, it typically takes three to over eight years for a pilot to fly with a major airline. It’s between two and over six years in the United States, depending on various factors.
Virgin Atlantic’s Fleet
According to Planespotters.net, Virgin Atlantic currently operates an all-widebody fleet of 43 mainline aircraft with an average age of around 8.2 years. These include 14 Airbus A330s (six A330-300s and eight A330neos), 12 Airbus A350-1000s, and 17 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. This makes it one of the largest all-widebody fleets in the world, although, for comparison, this total would only represent around 15% of Emirates’ giant all-widebody fleet.
Virgin Atlantic currently has 11 Airbus A330-900s on order, and these will replace its remaining fleet of legacy A330-300s by 2027 while growing the overall fleet. The airline was established in 1984 and serves around 29 destinations, mostly from its hubs at London Heathrow and Manchester. The airline is also a member of SkyTeam and is 49% owned by Delta Air Lines. Virgin Atlantic has evolved into a mixed network carrier that serves both leisure-heavy destinations and business-heavy routes.
It offers flights to Caribbean destinations like Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica (Montego Bay), Mexico’s Cancun, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Its US destinations include Las Vegas, Orlando, Miami, Tampa, as well as some other less leisure-heavy destinations, such as Boston. Virgin has flights on some other non-leisure routes, including to India and Nigeria.
