A "Crisis" in Flight Training???

[doh]

It would be fantastic if the well went bone dry! No offence to you noobs, but I would love to see them have to raise the pay about fourfold to get guys in the cockpit. I am doubtful though.

 

[mitsdriver]

These right seat pay for time building schemes have been around for decades, and are not some nefarious first stepin replacing all our airline pilots with foreigners. Probably the biggest utilizer of these PFT programs anyways have been our own pilots, especially quite a few here on this board. That paying to shortcut mentality by AMERICAN pilots, often encouraged/paid for for their major airline pilot parents, is a far far far and existent, threat to pilot careers than some PFT program where people are probably getting sketchy right seat time in a B1900.

GIA has been around for a while, and their program is certainly not program to sneak in foreigners.



Are you saying our flight schools are subsidized with the government picking up most of the costs? Would we be better off closing those flight schools down, or not allowing foreign students? I think if you hear any foreign accents on an airline here, they are legally there, probably have a American spouse.

Do you get equally upset when you hear American accents flying on foreign airliners? Because I assure you there are a lot more Americans flying in foreign airliner cockpits, than there are foreign pilots flying here.

If you all want to look at those looking to lower the bar so to speak of pay and QOL here, sure its convienient to want to blame hypothetical jobs lost to the auslanders, but why not look first at our own pilots who PFT, or work for free, or for burger flipper wages to help their management procure other contracts, who willing eat a shiit sandwich all in order to work as a pilot, or those major airline pilots who had too much hubris to fly a CRJ. Those are real and present threats to the quality of an airline pilots career. Some right seat program for korean pilots to log time, that may not even count here and that may not even be required crewmember, is probably not some camels nose under the tent.

We have to focus on real reasons why aviation careers have turned into such horrible jobs. Koreans coming over to sit right seat in a Beech, arent the cause of it, and are not the prelude to some massive foreign airline pilot hiring program.

You're missing my point. First, no one's blaming these foreign aviation cadets for anything. I've clearly said that I don't have any problem with them. Second, you seem to be evaluating the said situation based on its present status. I'm basing mine on how its future status will likely be.

You're correct by saying that these types of internship programs have been around for a while, and that its biggest "customers" have been Americans.

However my point is that: 1) In the future, foreign cadets will enter these programs in ever increasing numbers. Not because they're looking to land jobs here but because they're looking to land far more lucrative jobs available in their respective home countries. 2) The US regional will figure that they can keep their labor costs down further by having these "temps" aboard. And will seek to enter into more of these internship agreements with foreign institutions. 3) All this, plus the "usual suspects" from our own ranks, will serve to keep the regional wages in check by increasing the available applicant pool and negating any increase in demand for pilots.

You're also correct by saying that as of now, the impact of existing programs is insignificant. But given the industry trend abroad, will it stay that way? Don't you think the scale of these programs will only expand? Don't you think those BE-1900 gig will soon turn into CRJ/ERJ gig?

All this is just my 02 cents. Feel free to disagree. But think about this. If, 10 years ago, someone told you that you'll soon be talking to agents in India when you call customer service at your bank, phone company, etc., what would you've said? Yet isn't that exactly how it turned out?

Never underestimate the length the for-profit companies will go to in order to save a few bucks.

BTW, you seem to imply that the post you've quoted is mine. It isn't. Look again.

 

[mesaserf]

Are you saying our flight schools are subsidized with the government picking up most of the costs?

In a sense.. yes. With the government money spent on rural airports for runway improvements, upkeep of navigation aids, not to mention the cost of our ATC system I think it is safe to say flight schools are subsidized to an extent. Not that that is a bad thing. I think flight schools are an important part of our aviation industry.

Would we be better off closing those flight schools down, or not allowing foreign students?

Of course not. But I just wish we could secure a better life style and wage for your average pilot. Then maybe we could again be able to draw more US citizens into aviation. Therefor better justifying the tax expenditures.

I think if you hear any foreign accents on an airline here, they are legally there, probably have a American spouse.

Sure, my old roommate from my first airline job was from Norway and he married a US citizen. But I do wonder how many of those voices meant that an American born citizen pilot is without a job. All the while it is very difficult to break into foreign job markets. Maybe I'm just a bit jealous.


Do you get equally upset when you hear American accents flying on foreign airliners?

No.

Because I assure you there are a lot more Americans flying in foreign airliner cockpits, than there are foreign pilots flying here.

Not for much longer. I heard that some foreign carriers are slowly phasing out US pilots as their own come on line.