Career pilot: Taking stock

The regional airlines serve as the front door to the airline industry for both young aviators and midlife career changers. Where do things stand for this career path? As 2017 wrapped up, the Regional Airline Association (RAA) took a close look at the industry. Of particular interest are the economics, manpower needs, and training requirements. Some of its findings are noteworthy and surprising.

The data demonstrate the importance of regional airline service. In 2016, regional carriers provided the only air service to 64 percent of the nation’s airports with scheduled passenger service and conducted 42 percent of scheduled airline departures. Yet, the regional airline industry is contracting. In 2007, there were 160.15 million enplanements compared to 154.92 million enplanements in 2016. Why the shrinkage? It’s attributable in part to a lack of pilots.

The pilot shortage is no secret anymore, although doubters remain. The RAA report cites some telling numbers from the University of North Dakota’s U.S. Airline Pilot Supply Forecast—2016, which estimates more than 2,000 pilots per year are needed to fill the demand, a number that will increase to nearly 5,000 pilots per year over the next decade.

When flights get canceled or markets are abandoned because no one is available to fly the airplanes, the impact is felt not only by the communities they serve but also airline personnel. Consider that the RAA membership alone employs an estimated 20,000 pilots; 10,000 support staff; 1,000 flight control personnel; 8,000 mechanics; 15,000 flight attendants; and 5,000 customer service agents. When flights don’t go or companies downsize service, the results can be painful to families.

Although compensation has increased, recruitment has declined. The Regional Airline Association says broader solutions are required. A step in the right direction is creative training pathways that are effective, enhance safety, and are more affordable.If there is any good news about the pilot shortage dilemma it is this: The regional airline industry has finally come to the table with better compensation as an inducement to more future flyers. Gone are the days of a $22,000 annual salary for first-year pilots. To put it in perspective, the median annual wage for all U.S. occupations at all levels reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics was $37,040. Now, RAA member airlines compensate first-year pilots an average of $57,316; 90 percent of the membership pays first-year first officers $60,110. Those numbers can certainly attract the 23-year-old recent graduate, and they may motivate the high-time general aviation pilot to give up a high-paying, high-stress job mid-career to do what he or she loves. But, as the RAA says, although compensation has increased 150 percent since 2015, recruitment has actually declined. The organization says that broader solutions are required. A step in the right direction is creative training pathways that are effective, enhance safety, and are more affordable.

The crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 in Buffalo, New York, in 2009, led to the so called “ATP Rule” or first officer qualification (FOQ) regulation in 2013. That rule, which imposed a requirement for all first officers to hold an airline transport pilot certificate and increased the training requirements for the multiengine airplane airline transport pilot certificate, has contributed to the current pilot shortage in significant ways. The 2013 first officer qualification rule created a new barrier to career entry by making it more expensive and burdensome to go through a Part 141 or Part 61 training track to become a pilot. It also presented a new barrier to aviation university graduates, who must spend additional time accumulating flight hours after graduation and before hiring eligibility. A 2015 University of North Dakota/University of Nebraska Omaha Pilot Careers Aspiration Study update found more than one-third of aspiring aviators in flight training environments had been discouraged or decided against becoming a commercial pilot because of the rule. Many considered relocating overseas for an earlier career start.

The RAA study concludes that an aspiring airline pilot who completes a course of study at an aviation college or academy with a commercial pilot certificate and approximately 250 to 300 hours will need to spend an average of two years to attain the minimum hours for an ATP certificate.

Spanning the gap between 250 and 1,500 hours does not provide meaningful experience or training relevant to airliner operation. The report seems to debunk the theory held by major airline unions and government officials that 1,500 hours in a logbook equates to quality experience that better prepares a future airline pilot for the flight deck of a CRJ or Boeing. It states: “There is a misconception that pilots spend these two years gaining additional training. This is incorrect. Pilots do not receive any additional training during this time. Very few commercial flying opportunities exist to allow meaningful experience. Typically, pilots accumulate hours in two ways: They pay out of pocket for recreational flying, or they do any flying they can, like flight instruction, banner towing, and crop dusting. These operations take place in fair weather, in aircraft that bear no resemblance to today’s modern commercial airliner.”

How effective is the ATP rule? Not very. The RAA cites an independent study of 7,000 pilot training records conducted by six of the most trusted aviation universities in the country. It found:

• Pilots hired after the rule required more extra training or failed to complete training more than before the rule.
• Pilots with lower hours in flight performed better than pilots with higher hours in flight.
• Longer times between graduation date and airline hire corresponded to decreased training performance.
• Restricted ATP pilots (pilots with structured training credit toward flight hours) had the best outcomes.

What is one solution to the pilot shortage affecting the regional airline industry? The RAA has on its wish list what is termed “Structured Training Pathways.” These additional training pathways would be paid for by airlines and certified by the FAA as achieving a higher level of safety than flight time alone. These pathways would:

• Bridge the gap between pilot training and qualification, providing additional structured training before a pilot is released to line flying;
• Incorporate rigorous screening, testing, academics, checks, audits, and more; and
• Use high-quality simulators to prepare pilots for scenarios they don’t encounter when building flight hours in fair weather, such as icing on the wing or losing an engine.

The FAA already alleviates ATP time requirements for graduates of accredited aviation colleges, and other industry proposals call for structured training that would further reduce the hours required for a restricted ATP. Are these steps the antidote for the regional woes or a case of too little, too late? Time will tell.