The Pilot Shortage

The current environment for pilots is not like anything that has been experienced in recent memory. There are more spots for pilots in cockpits across the regional and major airlines than ever before. With the current trend projected to continue, the experts and regulators are looking to find ways to ensure that there are enough pilots to continue the industry. It has been discussed that the shortage is due to the lack of pilot pay, as well as, an influx of pilots retiring. However, there are other impacts that have created the current need for an increase in pilots. This need for more pilots has caused the current pilots at regional carriers to be spread thin to cover the growing need. This has caused practices by the airlines that can be considered less than safe, as well as, providing an unlivable lifestyle for the pilots.

Regional airlines have always provided low pay and limited benefits. However, with the expansion of the regional airlines stake in the overall market, pilots are forced to remain at the regionals longer than in the past. “Today, regional jets account for an astonishing one half (53 percent was the last number I saw) of all domestic departures in the United States. Pilots have figured out that a job at a regional could easily mean an entire career at a regional.”(Smith, 2016). So, the pay was not originally the issue. The expansion of the regional airline industry has created the snowball effect that is now the pilot shortage. With the larger regional airlines, the amount of vertical movement has started to become limited. The limited vertical movement has caused pilots to remain at the regionals for longer periods of time. According to Paul Ryder, a captain at ExpressJet Airlines, “regional carriers pay pilots an average of $27,350 per year” (Loeb, 2016). This pay is not sufficient to sustain a family. Additionally, Ryder states, “Aspiring pilots must pay between $150,000 to $200,000 to obtain their license” (Loeb, 2016). With such a large initial payment, there are less people overall who are willing to invest in a flying career. To combat some of these issues, regional carriers have begun to offer sign on bonuses to qualified pilots. This has allowed the pilots to combat some of the enormous student loan debt they have built-up over the course of their training.

The issue pertaining to student loan debt has only further deteriorated following the regulation change after the Colgan Air crash in 2009. Following the regulation, the minimum hours a pilot could have before flying for an airline is 1500 hours. The purpose of the increase in flight time is to ensure the airlines are using pilots who have experience and are professional.  Pilots build their time in many ways. One of the most common ways is to become a certified flight instructor. Depending on where you are a flight instructor, it could take up to a year and a half to get the required hours to move onto the airlines. This year and a half is also with minimal compensation. “If the FBO is charging $50 an hour for flight instruction, and the instructor is extremely busy and flies 100 hours a month—that is $60,000 a year in flight instruction fees. If the FBO pays the instructor 1/3 of that figure, it comes to $20,000 a year” (Hanson, 2014). This is another year and half on top of the years it takes to move onto the majors, that these pilots will not be making a livable wage. Additionally, the usual time frame that a graduate has to begin to start paying back their student loans is six months after graduation. So, on top of not receiving a wage that will be able to sustain yourself let alone a family, you will have to also pay off your student loans at the same time. This increase in time has caused issues with many pilots, making it difficult to not just go a different route, such as cargo or corporate, to build your time. Many of the pilots that end up going a different route such as cargo or corporate, never end up leaving that company and going to the major airlines. This is another issue that has depleted some of the potential pilots for both the regional and major airlines. People are prone to get comfortable and stay with what they know. Additionally, corporate pilots can earn a respectable wage and benefits. This can increase the appeal of this route, as well as, flying the business jets over less sexy larger airline jets.

It is also up for debate if the additional required flight time is producing better pilots, or just causing a point of friction for pilots looking to get into the airlines. While it is understandable that a person would believe having 1500 hours versus 250 would be beneficial. Is the extra time going to transfer to being a better pilot in the airline environment, I don’t believe so. While it may be true that you will learn some things from providing instruction for those additional hours. The environment you are having as an instructor in a small training aircraft like a Cessna 172 is not at all the same as the environment you will be operating in while flying a CRJ 900. According to the 2012 Pilot Source Study, the new requirements “showed inconclusive results on whether pilots who had logged more than 1,500 hours performed better in regional airline pilot training than those who had 500 to 1,500 hours.” (Silk, 2016). So whether or not the shortage is found to be largely due to the increase in minimum flight time, it is still uncertain if the increased flight time is causing more qualified pilots, or just creating additional stress on pilots.

            While it may be unclear if the added regulations are providing better pilots, it is providing the general population with a sense of security. After the Colgan crash, the general population went up in arms against pilots who have limited training and time in the aircraft. It allows for the passengers to feel safe knowing that the pilots, who hold their lives in their hands, are adequately trained. However, this increase in flight time does not mean they are better pilots, due to the way they are building this extra time. “The 1,500-hour minimum is universally condemned by safety advocates, who say the arbitrary number is ineffective and nonsensical considering both Colgan pilots exceeded that number.” (Creedy, 2016). So this may create a false sense of security in the uninformed passengers, the industry itself has to correct the actual issue that plagues it. This increase in flight time could actually be hindering the quality of the pilot pool, and the FAA and the NTSB need to ensure that they are focused on providing the highest level of actual security and not just a high level of perceived safety for the public.

            So while the overall consensus is still out on what is causing the pilot shortage. It is certain that there needs to be steps taking to counteract the problems that the industry is reluctant to admit, but knows they have. Taking steps to combat all of the issues being brought up by the different parties is a great way to ensure there is a future pool of pilots for the airlines. With the implementation of a livable wage, as well as, improved pilot lifestyle, the pilot shortage will be able to be halted before it snowballs into a much larger issue.

References

Creedy, K. (2016, February 4). Pilot Training Requires Regulatory Overhaul To Improve Safety. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathryncreedy/2016/02/04/pilot-training-requires-regulatory-overhaul-to-improve-safety-part-i/#657c777b6d6f

Hanson, J. (2014, January 31). Flight Instructor Pay & The Future of Flight Training. Retrieved from http://midwestflyer.com/?p=7200

Loeb, S. (2016, March 6). Pilot shortage hits US regional airlines. Retrieved from http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/pilot-shortage-hits-us-regional-airlines/ar-BBqoKm1

Silk, R. (2016, January 19). Training rule blamed for pilot shortage. Retrieved from http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Training-rule-blamed-for-pilot-deficit

Smith, P. (2016, March 1). FACT AND FALLACY OF THE “PILOT SHORTAGE”. Retrieved from http://www.askthepilot.com/pilot-shortage/

NTSB Most Wanted List

The NTSB puts out a “Most Wanted” list that states what areas they believe need to be addressed to increase safety. This year’s list has cockpit image recorders, prevent loss of control in flight, fatigue related accidents, reducing distractions, and medical fitness in that order. However, from my experience, I believe this order does not make sense for the industry. From the pilot’s perspective I believe the order should be listed in this order to represent the best safety interest for the industry. I would list the order as fatigue related accidents; prevent loss of control in flight, medical fitness, reducing distractions, and cockpit image recorders. This is because I believe fatigue is a large issue that directly causes crashes, as well as, increases the likelihood of issues in other areas. While cockpit image recorders are trivial and wont actively increase safety like the other issues will.

I believe that cockpit image recorders should not be listed on the NTSB’s “Most Wanted” safety improvements. While the idea sounds possible when thinking from an outside perspective, the overarching theme is baseless and is mainly a ploy to prove to the general public that the safety has been improved. “Premature overreaction … Cockpit image recorders will not improve safety and could, in fact, impede it by diverting limited resources that could be used for more valuable safety enhancements” (Air Traffic Management, 2015). The overall concept is irreverent. The staple of the argument is the Malaysian air flight, which was never discovered, and having a camera in the cockpit would not have solved that issue.

            While the NTSB did a good job ensuring the objective and also preparing this list creates a good baseline for the rest of the industry in safety. I believe they should remove the cockpit image recorder. The Air Line Pilots Association, “also specifically notes ‘pilot inattention due to workload, distractions or complacency, and a lack of understanding how a stall actually relates to exceeding a wing’s critical angle of attack (AOA)’" (Bellamy, 2016). This further shows the importance of maintaining control of the aircraft versus using cameras to scapegoat the pilots, and prevent them from working in a positive and productive environment. I believe the focus should be on better enabling pilots with knowledge and the capacity to provide the optimal level of performance. This is why I believe the NTSB should have included runway incursions to their list. Runway incursions are a large hazard and are common in general aviation. Runway incursions directly put the pilots and passengers of both aircraft in danger, and need to be mitigated as much as possible. 

            I believe the FAA is most likely to respond to, the reevaluating of the fatigued rules imposed on the crew. It is very common to hear from pilots that they have awful crew rest rules, and that they are not able to execute as well when tired. Additionally, it causes a loss of efficiency by pilots costing the airlines in fuel and timeliness. So it is in the best interest of everyone to have pilots utilize a proper duty rest period that allows themselves to fly safely and efficiency to their destination.

References

Air Traffic Management. (2015, January 27). NTSB repeats calls for cockpit video. Retrieved from http://www.airtrafficmanagement.net/2015/01/ntsb-repeats-calls-for-cockpit-video-surveillance/

Bellamy, W., III. (2016, January 14). NTSB's 5 Most Wanted Aviation Safety Improvements in 2016 Retrieved from http://www.aviationtoday.com/av/commercial/NTSBs-5-Most-Wanted-Aviation-Safety-Improvements-in-2016_86948.html#.Vwr8cRIrImJ

Aviation Organizations

             In the aviation industry it is vital to remain informed on current procedures and all developing technologies. This is done by joining associations that pertain to the type of flying you are involved in. There are many different facets of aviation that have support through different associations. Personally, as a pilot who will be flying corporate in the future, I will become a member of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and the Michigan Business Aviation Association (MBAA). These organizations would benefit my career by allowing me to remain informed on both the national and state level.

            The NBAA “is the leading organization for companies that rely on general aviation aircraft to help make their businesses more efficient, productive and successful.” (NBAA, 2016). The NBAA offers over 100 products and services to companies all over the country, and allows for attendance at critical conferences that assist in operating all over the world. I’ll be flying largely international at my perspective company.  With this in mind, it will benefit me to attend the NBAA’s International Operators Conference (IOC) to remain on top of all the changing procedures that go along with international travel. When flying internationally there are always changing procedures and regulations that a company much know and properly utilize in their standard operating procedures. Additionally, they provide a scheduling and dispatcher conference. The scheduling and dispatch conference allows for any company that provides services or support to the business aviation community, a place to come and state why they are the best at what they do. This provides the company the opportunity to utilize the best and most cost effective services and support for their fleet. Lastly, the NBAA provides lobbyists for business aviation. This is critical, especially pertaining to the fight against commercial aviation in regards to user fees. Without this service, the business aviation industry could become much less useful and effective.

            The MBAA “is dedicated to preserving and strengthening Michigan's aviation infrastructure by tirelessly working with the State's legislators to secure stable and adequate funding. We are focused on advocating for our members and actively supporting the next generation of business aviation professionals through various education events along with scholarship funding.” (MBAA, 2016). The MBAA allows for members of business aviation to know about all the changes and available resources as it pertains directly to Michigan aviation. The MBAA advocates for “sufficient funding to preserve, develop and assure safety at Michigan airports” (MBAA, 2016). Furthermore, the MBAA doesn’t just enhance the business aviation infrastructure in Michigan; it also assists in cultivating future pilots from Michigan. They do this in collaboration with the Frank P Macartney Foundation, and provide scholarships and events to “ensure the future of business aviation in Michigan stays strong long into the future” (MBAA, 2016). The MBAA is an excellent association to be apart of because it not only provides you with superior services in Michigan, it also gives back to future pilots.

            It is important to belong to these associations because they assist the industry in numerous ways. It may not always directly impact you or your career, but they all provide a vital service for the future of aviation. These associations lobby for my interests on both the national and state level. They provide the best source of knowledge pertaining to changes in the industry, as well as, developing technologies that are coming out. Lastly, they provide scholarships to assist students to begin their careers as pilots. This is a vital part of these associations’ missions. The aviation industry is an expensive industry to break into, especially on the pilot side. These scholarships allow future pilots the opportunity to complete all their flight training, when they may not have had the money to do so otherwise.  Through the involvement in these associations, a pilot can improve the infrastructure they operate in, as well as, their knowledge of aviation.

References

MBAA. (2016, April 2). Michigan Business Aviation Association. Retrieved from http://www.mibaa.org/

NBAA. (2016, April 2). National Business Aviation Association. Retrieved from https://www.nbaa.org/

Are the Chinese Looking to Compete with Boeing and Airbus?

Airbus and Boeing currently have a stranglehold on aviation manufacturing. Their track record allows for their aircraft to have a prestige that a new company cannot match. Additionally, being certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) insures that they manufacture a safe aircraft and allows them to operate all around the world. This market is very profitable, and China wishes to have a stake in the market. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is the regulating body for aviation in China. The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) has an aircraft called the C919, that they believe will rival the A320 and the Boeing 737. This is no small feat, and the CAAC and COMAC have run into unexpected delays in certification by the FAA. “’It is not smooth sailing right now between the CAAC and FAA on when they come together,’ says Chahrour. ‘It is a resources issue for the FAA,’ he adds” (Perrett & Pyadushkin, 2014). This is primarily because in aviation the unknown is dangerous.

           

            The certification process for the C919, I believe will be a long one. This is due to the FAA wanting to see a proven track record by the CAAC and the C919 before recognizing the regulating body of China as being effective at maintaining a high level of safety, as well as, the C919 meeting that standard as an aircraft. Being allowed to fly in the United States is an incredible advantage that provides the company a large increase in the relevancy of their aircraft in the aviation industry. Their company will not be able to rival the A320 or the B737 if they cannot fly in the United States. However, if the CAAC is proven to promote a high level of safety, and the C919 is proven to be safe while operating in China and other countries. I believe that they will receive FAA-certification.

            If the C919 were to receive FAA certification, it would largely affect the current airline industry. The US carriers would feel this effect on numerous fronts. Having a Chinese manufactured aircraft would have an impact on areas such as public perception and aircraft purchases. First, Chinese manufacturing has a stigma by the American populace. Chinese manufacturing is viewed as something that is mass-produced and of cheap quality. This stems from all of the little trinkets people accumulate being made in China. Also, the Chinese are not viewed to have safe working environments and techniques. This would cause issue will Americans not wanting to fly on the Chinese aircraft due to the feeling of it being unsafe. So, regardless if the C919 is built in a manner that rivaled the safety of the B737 or A320, it will be difficult to overcome this stigma and prove to the American public that this aircraft is not cheap or poorly constructed. Furthermore, the aircraft can be manufactured at a much lower cost than the B737 and A320. “A report published by China National Radio in June estimates the plane will cost about $50 million.   This price is significantly lesser than prices of Boeing’s 737 series of planes and the Airbus A320 (with average list prices of $75 million and $90 million, respectively).” (Johnson, 2015). This reduced price would allow the airlines to purchase more aircraft, and have larger profit margins. If the FAA finds the C919 to be safe and the maintenance cost is comparable to the B737 and the A320, there would be a large demand for these aircraft by the US carriers. However, this cheaper price point is a double edge sword. This is due to the stigma that cheaper products tend to be of inferior quality compared to high priced products. This stigma coupled with the already negative views pertaining to Chinese manufacturing could increase the image of the aircraft being unsafe and of poor quality compared to the trusted B737 and A320.

            The Chinese government owns COMAC. COMAC is the Chinese government’s way of getting into the international aviation industry and all the perks that are attributed to it. COMAC has sold hundreds of their C919s and will be a staple in aviation for the Chinese government. While COMAC has sold many of their C919s, the majority of their sales have gone to the Chinese government, and have generally not been recognized by the rest of the aviation industry. This goes back to the C919 not being FAA-certified and overall untested. COMAC also have a program for manufacturing their ARJ21, which is a regional jet. “The C919 program originally relied on timely ARJ21 certification—by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) with FAA supervision—to pioneer U.S. acceptance of Chinese type certificates.” (Perrett & Pyadushkin, 2014). However, this plan fell through when it became necessary to push the C919 development along. The ARJ21 program is still being developed, but COMAC is putting the bulk of their effort, and resources into the C919 program.

           

            If the C919 were to receive FAA certification, and begin to gain a foothold in the aviation industry along with Boeing and Airbus, I believe other companies would enter the market. This is because Boeing and Airbus currently have a stranglehold on the industry. If they begin to lose their grip in the market, there will be other companies who will take advantage of the new opportunity, and join the market in competition. However, if the C919 receives FAA certification and Boeing and Airbus keep COMAC from gaining a place in the industry, then other companies will see that there is no room in the market for additional competition. This in turn, would ensure that the other companies would not enter the market.

            Currently, there has been no public response to the C919 by Airbus or Boeing. However, both companies have provided recent improvements to their A320s and B737s. This is not a response in my opinion to the C919, but as a normal step in aviation to continue to stay relevant and ahead of the rest of the industry. The aviation industry is constantly evolving and if the manufacturers do not continue to improve, they will eventually become irrelevant. While this may not be directly due to the roll out of the C919, I am certain that if the C919 receives FAA certification there will be a public response to the event by both Airbus and Boeing.

References

Johnson, P. (2015, December 17). Competition For Boeing As COMAC's C919 Is The New Kid On The Block. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/pierrjohnson/2015/12/17/competition-for-boeing-as-comacs-c919-is-the-new-kid-on-the-block/#3f3f0de86c1a

Perrett, B., & Pyadushkin, M. (2014). Russia, China Plan Joint Widebody Effort. Retrieved from http://www.flightlogistics.com/widebody/

Flying Cheap: Professionalism in the Industry

            Currently, there is a lot of talk of a pilot shortage. This is a rather complex issue that has numerous factors influencing it. I believe that it is a combination of both of the major arguments that has created the current pilot shortage. The two major arguments are that the number of pilots’ retiring at the mandatory age of 65 is outnumbering the number of young pilots coming in. This I find has some validity due to the large number of pilots from the Vietnam era approaching retirement. “Upward of 20,000 cockpit seats expected to open up at U.S. airlines over the next seven years due to FAA-mandated age-65 retirements” (Aviation Week and Space Technology, 2015). However, this number may have caused an influx in the need for pilots, but that does not fully cover the extreme demand that is currently in place for pilots. The current system usually takes pilots from being a certified flight instructor, to a regional airline pilot, and then finally to a major carrier. This has its advantages, but also has numerous downsides that we are currently experiencing. Coupled with the influx of pilots retiring, the long pipeline required to become a pilot with a major carrier has caused massive shortages for pilots. The regionals cannot get pilots fast enough to fill their cockpits. Additionally, once their pilots have received enough flight time to move onto the majors they will leave with expediency. This is due to the second major point, which is that the pay for regional pilots when they initially enter the airline industry is an unlivable wage. This low wage has a trickle down effect that causes issues such as having to share small apartments with numerous pilots called crash pads. However, regional airlines get paid per flight completion by the major airlines. So with this method of profit, it is beneficial to the company to keep pilot cost low so they can increase their profit margin. This is because it is easier to keep the pilot wages low then to negotiate with the major airlines for an enhanced payment plan.

The airlines are pushing to change the safety regulations regarding to the minimum number of flight hours needed to become a first officer, which was prompted by Congress after the crash of a Colgan aircraft. The airlines wish to lower the qualifications and training requirements to widen the pool of pilots eligible to fly for the regional airlines. However, this is just a temporary fix that will only delay the pilot shortage because it does not remedy all the issues causing the current shortage. Capt. Tim Canoll, ALPA’s president said, “Given the evidence, it’s clear that today’s safety rules have no bearing on why some companies may not be able to attract qualified pilots, because there are pilots available to fly for the airlines that provide career growth and adequate work-life balance” (ALPA, 2015). So as Capt. Canoll states, there is career growth and work-life balance that has to be resolved to properly create an inviting environment to attract current pilots, as well as, influence the younger generation into wanting to become a pilot.

The new FAA regulations require “airline first officers to hold an Airline Transport Pilot certificate with a minimum of 1,500 hours of flight time” (Pope, 2013). There are caveats to this rule. However, this is the regulation that the pilot community is up in arms about. This is because this dramatically reduces the number of possible pilots that regional airlines are allowed to hire by regulation. Moreover, while the new prospective pilots will have a higher number of hours, the quality of those additional hours is up for debate. The transition from training aircraft such as a Cessna 172, to a regional jet such as a CRJ, is still a large task regardless of the additional flight hours due to the completely different environment and type of flying being done.  Some possible solutions to this issue are to reduce the minimums by instituting other types of requirements as it pertains to training and oversight by the regional companies. A requirement mandating an increase in the amount of time in training, and number of hours of flight time needed with a check airman can increase the proficiency of the pilot in the environment he will be operating in, as well as, improving the pilot as a whole. This will allow pilots to not have to wait so long building hours prior to being able to fly for the regional airlines, and also provides the regional airlines with more quality-trained pilots.

The Air Line Pilots Association or ALPA represents the regional pilots. However, this leaves many other members of the industry not represented such as, management and manufacturers. This is where the Regional Airline Association takes over in providing “a unified voice of advocacy for North American regional airlines aimed at promoting a safe, reliable, and robust regional airline industry.” (RAA, 2016). This allows the entire industry to have a voice in protecting their rights. Furthermore, providing every part of the industry with a voice creates an overall safer environment for the regional airlines to operate within.

Professionalism is having a high level of skill and knowledge on a particular activity, with the continual increase of both skill and knowledge as time and research progresses. Two ways the documentary demonstrated a lack of professionalism were the pilots coming to work in less the optimal health, and also management allowing for a pilot to have to travel all night from her home to her base with minimum rest prior to flying her route. I feel that the lack of first year pay and the overall compensation structure of the regional airlines contributed in the lack of professionalism, because it caused the pilots to make unsafe decisions. Along with causing the pilots to make unsafe decisions, the lack of compensation also provides additional stress to pilots who have to travel to their base from their home in another state. This additional travel is due to their inability to afford to live near their base airport.

Personally, I plan on maintaining professionalism by continually increasing my knowledge on current events in the aviation industry. Not only will this allow for me to properly operate in all environments, but also remain on top of any changes to standard operating procedures in different areas of the world. Lastly, I intend to continually progress in my training of aviation by becoming well versed in all aspects of aviation. I will do this by pursuing certificates and ratings in different types and categories of aviation to better cultivate myself as a well-versed and proficient pilot.

References

ALPA. (2015). No Excuses: Keep U.S. Airline Pilot Qualifications Strong. Retrieved from http://www.alpa.org/advocacy/pilot-pay-shortage

Aviation Week and Space Technology. (2015, February 16). The Coming U.S. Pilot Shortage Is Real. Retrieved from http://aviationweek.com/commercial-aviation/coming-us-pilot-shortage-real

Pope, S. (2013, July 11). FAA Finalizes ATP Rule for First Officers. Retrieved from http://www.flyingmag.com/news/faa-finalizes-atp-rule-first-officers

RAA. (2016, March 18). Regional Airline Association. Retrieved from http://www.raa.org/