Pilot Shortage

There has been increasing chatter in the airline world about an impending pilot shortage.  This is a shortage that some regions of the world are already beginning to feel.  Here in the United States, there is no real pilot shortage but largely due to industry consolidation and bankruptcy as well as new FAA regulations that extended pilots’ careers from age 60 to age 65.

But the shortage is coming.  Those pilots whose career got extended (and by default who stalled the careers of those pilots who are junior to them) are now approaching retirement age again.  That alone will flush out an ever increasing number of pilots.  In addition, the pilots left standing after industry bankruptcy and consolidation are the most senior and that leaves the balance who are working for legacy airlines pretty senior compared to the rest of the world.  Again, those people will only be leaving in ever increasing numbers.

At the bottom, there are ever increasing barriers to entry for new pilots.  Frankly, why someone would choose to be a pilot today has to be questioned quite a bit.  It typically costs in excess of $100,000 to get the education and training just to position oneself to start accumulating hours necessary to become an entry level pilot at an airline.  New law requires new pilots at airlines to have 1500 hours intead of 250 hours just to start work.

Let’s not forget what should attract a person to the career:  A reasonable salary, reasonable benefits and reasonable job security.  None of those exist for pilots who are beginning their career.  Today’s typical pilot starts out in extremely low paying positions (less than $25,000 / yr) at airlines such as regional carriers whose position in the industry is tenuous at best.  There is no reasonable salary (and often no reasonable salary for a decade or more after entering the industry), the benefits remain fairly good at most airlines but the job security is no longer there either. Many pilots find themselves laid off, furloughed or dismissed over and over again.

Tomorrow, how this problem might be fixed.

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