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/
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