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Q: I've been reading the Career Pilot section faithfully since it first appeared last year, but there seems to be a lot of emphasis on airline careers. After reading an article about air taxi flying that featured Sarah O'Brien giving her take on that career track ("Careers: Flying For Hire," March 2007 AOPA Flight Training), I must say that Part 135 flying seems to be more up my alley. Is the charter segment of the industry experiencing the pilot shortage, too?--Catherine from Sacramento, California

A: Air taxis operate under Part 135 of the federal aviation regulations, and those FARs cover a single-pilot operator flying a Cessna 182 up to those slick Gulfstream G-Vs being flown by the mega-companies. So jobs can range from a contract pilot taking one trip a week in a Piper Navajo at $100 per flight up to a salaried captain making $200,000 annually flying a Boeing Business Jet.

While there are dozens of airlines, there are several thousand air taxi operators. The latest FAA numbers show that on-demand air taxi operators fly, on average, about 2.5 million hours annually. So, the air taxi industry, whether launching large or small airplanes, accounts for a substantial amount of commercial flying.

The debate continues about the nature and extent of the pilot shortage and what the current state of the economy may do to hiring momentum. But Jim Christianson, president of NetJets--which does business as both a fractional and Part 135 operator--is showing his concern. Although his company has an ample supply of quality pilot applicants, he says, "The military is not generating pilots like it used to, and you don't see a whole lot of pilots coming through the civilian ranks."

Bob Seidel is a senior vice president and general manager of Jet Aviation Business Jets-U.S. He expects that the future may be more challenging as more baby-boomer pilots retire. He says, "There isn't enough back-filling in this industry of fresh young pilots. Over the next five years, there won't be enough pilots to fly these airplanes or enough technicians to maintain them. There aren't enough people going into school to do those things."

But Frank Ayers, chairman of the flight training department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, disagrees. He says, "Enrollment numbers are stronger than they have ever been." The real issue is that air taxi operators "are on the lower end of the food chain."

Kit Darby, whose AIR, Inc. keeps a pulse on airline hiring, speculates that the very light jet (VLJ) phenomenon will complicate matters even further. One prospective VLJ operator, Linear Air, plans to hire some 1,000 pilots to drive its planned fleet of 300 Eclipse 500s.

So, Catherine, the short answer is, "Yes." There is a pilot shortage, which, candidly, may become more critical for the on-demand charter operators.

I know of one Part 135 operator with a fleet of Falcons and Lears that is feeling the crunch. The chief pilot has lamented that the company will interview and offer jobs to 20 or so new hires but, on the first day of class, only four show up. The other 16 presumably went to the airlines.

There are two sticking points with flying on-demand charter.

The first is, "on demand." You can live and die by the pager. Although flying a jet might be very cool, the schedule is grueling. When the pager goes off at all hours, the crew is expected to be airborne in rapid fashion--quality of life is lacking for many charter pilots.

Second, it's the money. The climb up the charter ladder almost parallels that of the airlines. Start your career flying something like Cessna 400-series pistons; then maybe the King Air; then finally the jets. The starting pay for flying piston equipment is really low, typically upper teens to low twenties.

Sooner or later, all operators, whether airline or on-demand charter, will need to improve the quality of life for their pilots by starting them at a decent wage and a schedule that allows a reasonable home life. But, there are pluses to air taxi work as well, and Sarah does a great job of listing them in the March 2007 article. Bottom line: You are needed!

Send us your career question and we'll answer the best ones here. Sorry, but we are not able to provide individual responses. 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.