Photos: Jonny Salmon/Pilot Careers Live
25 March 2025
The inaugural Pilot Careers Live Professional Flight Training Awards proved a huge success with more than 130 students, instructors and exhibitors celebrating at London Heathrow’s Sofitel Hotel last Friday.
Winners of the awards spanned nine separate categories, recognising the excellence of the British flight training industry.
The Awards, sponsored by FLYER magazine, went ahead despite chaos around Heathrow following the electrical substation fire which closed the airport. The Pilot Careers Live exhibition, held the following day at the Sofitel, also went ahead and was a major success with attendance back to pre-Covid levels.
Ian Seager of Seager Publishing, which staged the Pilot Careers Live Awards, said, “We’ve been running these events for almost thirty years. Over that time the professional flight training industry has faced a significant number of global challenges and almost constant change, but the dedication, passion and professionalism of training professionals and their highly motivated students has not changed.
“We felt an annual event recognising their contribution was long overdue, so we launched the Pilot Careers Live Professional Flight Training Awards to celebrate these remarkable people.”
Logainair CEO Luke Farajallah was guest of honour for the Awards. Luke spoke about Loganair’s fascinating operation with its beach landings and a short-haul route with an average flight time of just sixty seconds. Luke also talked about how special it is to work in the aviation industry, and how important it is to support, encourage and help people as they think about and begin their aviation careers.
The panel of judges was chosen for its ability to consider all the nominations and comprised John Monks, Director of Safety and Security for British Airways; Holly Mitchell, Head of PR and Public Affairs for easyJet; and chair judge, Anthony Petteford, a legend of the pilot training industry.
The judges said: “Pablo’s great performance on his integrated course included winning two high-achiever awards, for best in ground school and best overall pilot.
“Pablo also demonstrated persuasive enthusiasm to participate in, understand and aid the further development of other team roles in aviation, e.g. ATC training and drawing upon his time as a ground handling agent. Pablo has fully embraced excellence and the importance of the wider team in aviation.”
Also nominated: Roman Kastelijn, Leading Edge Aviation; Dillon James, Skyborne Airline Academy.
The judges said: “A recipient of the prestigious British Women Pilots’ Association Oriana Pepper Scholarship, Ashleigh enriched her own – and that of her peers – pilot training journey with passion, enthusiasm and dedication. Passing all exams on first attempts, she is a model example of how success and excellent standards can be equally achieved through following the Modular pathway.”
Also nominated: Ben Powell, Bristol Groundschool; Matthew Bristow-Slade, Leading Edge Aviation.
The judges said: “Our winner is an outstanding MPL graduate scoring 4s and 5s in his KSAs throughout training. He now flies as a First Officer for TUI and is a model example of the standards that TUI seeks and we have grown to expect from MPL courses.”
Also nominated: Chris Eustace, CAE; Lawrence Donnelly, CAE.
Special mention: Benjamin Bendall.
The judges said: “So many graduate airline pilots have heard of Dickie, even if they haven’t been trained by him! He has been a solid, caring, cheerful, encouraging bedrock of the cadet pilot training ATO community for as long as anyone can remember.
“Simply put, Dickie is a legend of the pilot training industry who deserves to be recognised for his single-minded commitment to building really solid foundations of cadet pilot training through excellent ground training.”
Also nominated: Steve Buckley, Lecturer in Pilot and Aviation Operations at the Air & Space Institute, Newark ; Julie Gardner, Skyborne Airline Academy; Mark Fairhurst, FTEJerez.
The judges said: “Exceptional leadership of the key transitional phase between single-engine and multi-engine training is what prepares a cadet for initial type rating and the start of an airline career.
“Our winner has demonstrated significant dedication to the enrichment and success of all his cadets passing through this stage of training – not just in crew flying skills but also the development of professional attitudes, knowledge and attitudes. Setting the high standards expected by airlines from new qualified cadets.”
Also nominated: Keith Campbell, Air & Space Institute, Newark; Michael Polanen, FTEJerez.
The judges said: “This worthy winner is widely respected for his role as an UPRT (Upset Recovery Training) instructor, where he balances technical precision with an approachable teaching style. Cadets consistently describe his lessons as engaging, informative, and enjoyable.
“Matt’s ability to break down the key required skills of Advanced UPRT into clear, actionable responses should an aircraft suffer an upset, ensures that graduates not only understand what to do but also feel confident applying it in real-world scenarios.
“His ability to foster a supportive and engaging learning environment has made a lasting impact on cadets, consistently earning him the highest praise, being described as ‘not only an outstanding instructor, but also a fantastic human being’.”
Also nominated: Darren Agnew, Edinburgh and Fife Aero Club; Mark Greenfield, Ultimate High; Craig Evans, Leading Edge Aviation; Rob Cole, Leading Edge Aviation.
The judges said: “Libby started her aviation career as cabin crew where no doubt her DNA of being supportive and caring was further developed. She has brought the same essential caring and supportive attitudes to her pilot training course offering guidance and encouragement through the challenges of training with fellow cadets.
“Libby has supported the encouragement of new cadets into pilot training, volunteers her time in the ‘Fly to Help’ programme and is here again this weekend encouraging aspirant pilots to enter the profession.”
Also nominated: Gary Naughton, Irish Aviation Students’ Association; Frederick Dai, Leading Edge Aviation.
The judges did not feel the nominations received provided the detail required to justify presenting the Sustainable Initiative award. Good intention and commitment exist, and we look forward to seeing solid examples in next year’s nominations.
The judges said: “Resilience in adversity is a fundamental strength required for a safer aviation industry. Scott repeatedly demonstrated this resilience throughout training which started during Covid and kept on going despite being at university, pilot training and Air Traffic Control training.
“Scott’s unwavering determination to succeed despite all the challenges makes him a stand-out and well-deserved winner of this Achievement through Adversity.”
Also nominated: Joanne Doughty, Leading Edge Aviation; Tom Haig, Skyborne Airline Academy.
The judges said: “With over three decades of unwavering dedication, Alex has revolutionised modular theoretical knowledge training, enabling thousands of pilots worldwide to achieve their dreams. He has pioneered innovations, such as the BGS ATPL theory course and Question bank, that have transformed flight training accessibility, quality, and effectiveness.
“Alex has played a direct role in training more than 22,000 professional pilots. His training programmes are used by over 160 partner flight schools in more than 40 countries.”
Also nominated: Lee Woodward, Skyborne Airline Academy; Kathryn Cleaver, TUI; Stephen Rees, Leading Edge Aviation; Colin Dobney, Stapleford Flight Centre; Mark Greenfield, Ultimate High; Romy Hawatt, Airways Aviation.
Special recognition: Pedro Pavesi, Flyby Aviation Academy.
