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/