Why Virgin Atlantic Is Targeting The 40 RAF Pilots Keeping Britain's F-35 Fleet Flyable

Virgin Atlantic is targeting RAF fast-jet pilots as part of recruitment efforts that could drain the UK of personnel qualified to fly the F-35B and Eurofighter Typhoon. The UK has around four dozen trained F-35B pilots and roughly 150 Typhoon pilots, and the article notes that replacing such specialists is costly and slow, with training for an F-35 fighter pilot estimated at about $10 million. It says London Loves Business reported in 2024 that Virgin offered double the annual salary to certain RAF pilots, with the opportunity to fly long-haul routes such as Barbados and New York. The piece argues that airlines poaching fighter pilots can be especially damaging because the RAF’s smaller force lacks depth. It also highlights that pilots are typically measured in single digits for graduation in the UK and that maintaining the fast-jet pipeline is already difficult.