Airline pilot shortage; Kit Darby still at it!

[414Flyer]

Kit once tried to bribe/entice someone that had a free interview website, to take the site down.

 

[Whine Lover]

Kit is a D!CK...I had a conversation with him about 10 years ago.

The recently revealed part about him sitting on Management's side of the table during negotiations makes him a DOUBLE-SUPER-SECRET-D!CK.

However, he's a smart D!CK who has figured out how to steal candy from Babies....Those dumb kids (that we all once were ) with Shiny Jet Syndrome.

I think his Mother is a Lesbian...Not that there is anything wrong with that.


YKMKR

 

[pilotyip]

say what you want, but a lot of pilots got their interview and job offer at FedEx, UPS, SWA, DAL, UAL, NWA with a contact that started at one of his job fairs

 

[DR Beeper]

Job Fairs

say what you want, but a lot of pilots got their interview and job offer at FedEx, UPS, SWA, DAL, UAL, NWA with a contact that started at one of his job fairs

If you are coming off active duty (or trying to), These rip off job fairs are the best way to enter the market and get exposure to the "world". Kit is just capitalizing (sp?) on the market for all wanna be airline pilots. The "pilot shortage" false advertising targets those trying to break into an aviation career.

I did not get an interview (at UPS) from one of his job fairs, however, 12 years later, my attendence verified my interest in the company. Take it for what it's worth.

 

[radarlove]

I posted the video because of the complete disconnect with reality they live under. There is no shortage of pilots, there never has been and there never will.

The military has to resort to not much more than throwing resumes down the stairs to weed out the folks who are qualified, the majors can set the bar so high that it takes 20 years to reach it...

Flying is like acting. There isn't a dearth of aspiring actors, spending their own money on headshots and travel to auditions, because they want the career. Same with flying; many think it's one of the coolest jobs out there (I do, anyway). I used to do it for free.

The point about flying a Seminole around being different than flying right-seat in an EFIS-equipped sim also missed the point. If the airlines thought that EFIS experience in a sim was so important, they would use that as a hiring criteria.

Instead, they use PIC time, expecially PIC time in something interesting, like a twin, or a jet.

And the guy misses the point about hiring experienced instructors. Getting "instructed" isn't the valuable part of a pilot career, it's the experience that counts. Once you've soloed, how important is instruction? Ok, maybe instrument basics, then what?

 

[hoover]

I think you need to go back and actually WATCH the video. The guy was not talking about a pilot shortage now. He was talking about future trends if current trends continue.

What he was saying is that University training programs do not produce the kind of pilot that the air carriers are looking for: crewmembers on a large multicrew turbine powered transport aircraft. This is largely due to: 1) the universities being ill-equipped (aircraft, simulators) to produce such pilots, 2) the lack of resources that the average person has to put toward such an endeavor, 3) the lack of return on investment (who wants to invest 120 to 180K on flight training and a four year degree, when there are a lot easier and less costly ways to earn a comparable wage?), and 4) a shortage of instructors (if you put all of the aforementioned resources into training and a degree, would you want to work as an instructor, for instructor pay?).

You've already seen a bit of that shortage. As recently as a few months ago, regionals were hiring anyone with a CP-MEL.

It's also going on, to a greater extent, in the aviation mechanic market. People who graduate A&P schools are goingto work as mechanics in non-aviation sectors because they can make more money and have a better quality of life.

Again, this isn't about a current shortage of pilots. It's about what will happen if current trends continue unchanged. Think about it: Why would any young man or woman today consider aviation as a career when there are easier ways to 1) earn more money, 2) have a better quality of life, 3) generally get a better return on their investment. I'm sure there are a few out there who will do it regardless of the cost, but if my kids ever come to me and say "I want to be a pilot," I'll tell them to start saving or buy lottery tickets, because I won't be able to finance it.

If things do not change (and truth be told I don't think that they will) I foresee a day when U.S. air carriers will be sponsoring their own trainees, Lufthansa style.

 

[imacdog]

I think you need to go back and actually WATCH the video. The guy was not talking about a pilot shortage now. He was talking about future trends if current trends continue.

What he was saying is that University training programs do not produce the kind of pilot that the air carriers are looking for: crewmembers on a large multicrew turbine powered transport aircraft. This is largely due to: 1) the universities being ill-equipped (aircraft, simulators) to produce such pilots, 2) the lack of resources that the average person has to put toward such an endeavor, 3) the lack of return on investment (who wants to invest 120 to 180K on flight training and a four year degree, when there are a lot easier and less costly ways to earn a comparable wage?), and 4) a shortage of instructors (if you put all of the aforementioned resources into training and a degree, would you want to work as an instructor, for instructor pay?).

You've already seen a bit of that shortage. As recently as a few months ago, regionals were hiring anyone with a CP-MEL.

It's also going on, to a greater extent, in the aviation mechanic market. People who graduate A&P schools are goingto work as mechanics in non-aviation sectors because they can make more money and have a better quality of life.

Again, this isn't about a current shortage of pilots. It's about what will happen if current trends continue unchanged. Think about it: Why would any young man or woman today consider aviation as a career when there are easier ways to 1) earn more money, 2) have a better quality of life, 3) generally get a better return on their investment. I'm sure there are a few out there who will do it regardless of the cost, but if my kids ever come to me and say "I want to be a pilot," I'll tell them to start saving or buy lottery tickets, because I won't be able to finance it.

If things do not change (and truth be told I don't think that they will) I foresee a day when U.S. air carriers will be sponsoring their own trainees, Lufthansa style.

This is what they've always been saying!!! "Hey guys the shortage is right around the corner! Just give me your credit card number and I'll feed you whatever information you want to hear!"

Of course the universities don't produce major-qualified pilots! They produce pilots who are ready to enter the real world of aviation so they can build experience and eventually become a pilot with a high degree of responsibility. Tell me, did the universities produce 727 pilots in the 70's? No? Please, stop buying into Kit's bullcrap. There is no shortage and there never will be.

 

[Joblu]

Kit Darby is the president of Aviation Information Resources (AIR, Inc.). Currently a B767 captain with United Airlines, Mr. Darby has interviewed 20 times with 16 different airlines and worked with three majors and one national airline since 1978.


Impressive, 20 times with 16 Airlines? If I knew that a career in aviation was like that when I started this journey I would have chosen another career.

A bud of mine once sat in his JS and he told me he was a complete @sshole to everyone.

What a scumbag!

 

[MJ42]

Kit Darby is the president of Aviation Information Resources (AIR, Inc.). Currently a FIRED(not retired)B767 captain with United Airlines, Mr. Darby has interviewed 20 times with 16 different airlines and worked with three majors and one national airline since 1978.


Impressive, 20 times with 16 Airlines? If I knew that a career in aviation was like that when I started this journey I would have chosen another career.

A bud of mine once sat in his JS and he told me he was a complete @sshole to everyone.

What a scumbag!

The truth in red.

 

[Fozzy]

And, Kit, on a personal note: none of us at NetJets will ever forget how you sat across the table from us in negotiations and attempted to help sell us an insulting contract.

Amen Guitar! You beat me to the punch. Kit is a management tool on top of being just plain annoying. I personally hope his company goes under ASAP.
You get that Kit, you are a scumbag.

 

[pilotyip]

management tool?

Amen Guitar! You beat me to the punch. Kit is a management tool on top of being just plain annoying. I personally hope his company goes under ASAP.
You get that Kit, you are a scumbag.

and without managemnt tools there woud be no flying jobs. kinda like male and female you need most pieces to produce something.

 

[skyward80]

There's a shortage of experienced pilots willing to work for beans. That's the truth. Got plenty of experienced guys out there looking for decent pay though. The regionals keep having to lower their experience requirements because people generally aren't enthusiastic about living off food stamps. Not trying to make this about the regionals. Just using them as an example.

If you believe there is a shortage, let me tell you that we are not, in fact, in a recession. Also, I have a solar-powered flashlight to sell you.

Skyward80

 

[radarlove]

I think you need to go back and actually WATCH the video.

Watched the whole thing there, big boy. Boring and stupid and the guy talking doesn't get it, fo' sho.

You can't project trends out forever, and that is the point of 95% of the people who have posted in this thread. The impending doom of a looming pilot shortage has been talked about since before Eastern, Pan Am, Midway, Braniff all went under.

There is no impending doom. There will always be more pilot wannabes than good paying jobs for them. At times, there will be so many more wannabes than jobs that pilots will pay for their own training.

At times, this won't be necessary. But at no time will the airlines suddenty stop violently and cease expanding because there were no pilots to sit in the seats.

Now, in India this is happening, they've eaten their seed-corn and sucked all of the flight instructors up into the new regionals and are recruiting overseas. India has a very short aviation history and as you watch, the wannabes will flood flight schools and the overseas recruitment will stop.

There is not, and has never been a lack of training infrastructure in the US.

 

[BoilerUP]

Tell me, did the universities produce 727 pilots in the 70's?

Actually, Purdue had some graduates hired on with American back in the 70s as 727 FEs...and a few other graduates by some small Texas airline, I think it was named Southwest.

They even had a program with Ryan International for 727 FEs (if not also FOs) through the late 90s.

Don't mistake me...I'm not trying to brag about the past at my alma-mater and I agree 100% with you that universities aren't equipped to groom 22 year old graduates into competent, knowledgeable, experienced narrowbody pilots. But yes, there were some university grads that went straight to narrowbody airplanes in the 70s.

And I agree 100% with whoever said there is no lack of pilots, only a lack of pilots willing to work for the current offered compensation and lifestyle.

 

[inline]

United States of America

it used to be a pretty good place to live

Then why don't you move?