Even so, the nation read stories in the press this summer with headlines such as, "Pilot Shortage Causing Problems for United Airlines" and "Pilot Shortage Cuts NWA Flights." It wasn't so much that there were no qualified pilots to hire from the available pool, but more that the airlines simply got caught with their pants down. Staffing plans went awry.
Overseas, though, the story is quite different. Here are some recent headlines from around the world.
"Chinese Airlines in Dogfight for Scarce Pilots."
"Scandinavian Airline System Reduced Flights Because of a Shortage of Pilots."
"Air India Express Temporarily Suspends Flights."
Of course, the situation overseas is having some impact on the availability of seasoned U.S. pilots (see "Careers: Foreign Services," November 2006 AOPA Flight Training). Today there is a tremendous need for piloting talent on the lower rungs of the aviation career ladder: flying regional jets. The proof of that need is in the hiring criteria.
Not long ago, companies like American Eagle and Air Wisconsin were looking for pilots who had acquired a minimum of 1,500 hours of total flight time and 500 hours of multiengine experience. And those airlines were pretty picky, too. Eagle states that it now requires 1,000 and 100, and Air Wisconsin posts 500/100. In reality, though, pilots who are coming through affiliated colleges and academies are finding jobs with a lot less than advertised hiring minimums (see "Bridging the Gap," June 2007 AOPA Flight Training).
Republic Airways, which operates Chautauqua, Republic Airlines, and Shuttle America for carriers like Delta, Continental, and United, typifies the dilemma facing the regional air carriers. Its staffing crunch is caused by the major airlines hiring pilots off the street for the first time in a long while. According to company spokesman Warren Wilkerson, "The entire industry is facing pilot shortages. This is something new that we've experienced. We're adjusting our hiring and training programs to keep pace with the higher demand."
So, where do we go from here? There are two major issues that the industry needs to address. First, training costs need to be funded in a way that spreads the burden. Second, the entry-level pay must become more attractive.
Training can cost anywhere from about $40,000 or so up to $150,000 depending on where it is obtained. Imagine exiting a flight training program with $75,000 in debt and locking in that first job as an RJ first officer at $1,400 per month take-home pay. And even then, there is no guarantee that a job will be waiting at the end of training.
The industry pundits will state that there is no shortage of low-time airline pilot wannabes with a fresh commercial pilot certificate and 250 hours. They will say that there is a shortage of "qualified" pilots with thousands of hours. Do we need to change the system?
The military services prove that a zero-hour individual can be trained to fly a supersonic jet in well less than a thousand hours. Historically, airlines like Lufthansa and Japan Airlines have demonstrated that exceptional young talent can be recruited and trained to fly passenger jets in fewer than 500 hours of flight time through an ab initio program. Mesa Airlines' Pilot Development Program in Farmington, New Mexico, has for several decades put pilots into airliners with fewer than 300 hours of total time.
What's the secret? Airline-style training from the beginning. Every hour is oriented to airline procedures, systems, callouts, and discipline. The objective of such programs is not to qualify students to become flight instructors in Cessna Skyhawks, but to develop professional flight crew for airlines. After training is completed, there is a realistic expectation that the student will immediately transfer to the big flying machinery.
A glimpse of the future could be on the horizon. Australian airline Qantas is setting up an independent pilot training business with a goal of training 3,000 new pilots for the carrier as well as other airlines. Boeing's Alteon training division appears to be gearing up to address the need as well. Alteon is testing a system that could reduce training time by half; it is eyeing heavy utilization of advanced simulators as a key component in its program. Of course, the FAA may need to come up with a revised certification standard that emphasizes quality versus quantity.
Kit Darby, the president of Atlanta-based career-advising firm Air, Inc., speculates that someday the U.S. airlines may need to pony up for basic as well as advanced training to attract new pilots. This notion is not new. In the 1960s, United Airlines recruited private pilots with 350 hours and paid for a commercial pilot certificate upgrade.
The pilot shortage is also being felt across the general aviation spectrum as well in areas such as corporate aviation and air taxi. But you have enough to think about right now.
Wayne Phillips is an airline transport pilot with a Boeing 737 type rating. He is a B-737 instructor and operates the Airline Training Orientation Program in association with Continental Airlines. He is an aviation safety consultant in Michigan and speaker for the AOPA Air Safety Foundation.
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