Pilot shortage, coming soon to an airline near you.

[CherryBomb]

I'm still not convinced there will ever be a pilot shortage. There might be a lack of qualified pilots, but no overall shortage. Its too easy to get a pilots license in this country. Its the industrys best kept secret:

As long as there are parents willing to shell out money for kids to go to 4 month zero time to RJ programs, there will never be a shortage. Lets not forget the pay for training outfits either. Its all about the moolah!!

 

[time builder]

This article is full of it. I seriously doubt Westminster college is graduating 110 commercial pilots per year. Anyone have a more realistic figure?

The parts about pay are seriously fluffed, not that this is news to anyone, but at least someone is pointing out that we're not all making six figures.

On a personal note, I went to a SkyWest job fair last month, there's no shortage of applicants there. They say that 2500/500 with previous part 121/135 experience is competitive, I believe it.

 

[siucavflight]

This article is full of it. I seriously doubt Westminster college is graduating 110 commercial pilots per year. Anyone have a more realistic figure?

The parts about pay are seriously fluffed, not that this is news to anyone, but at least someone is pointing out that we're not all making six figures.

On a personal note, I went to a SkyWest job fair last month, there's no shortage of applicants there. They say that 2500/500 with previous part 121/135 experience is competitive, I believe it.

But everyone they hire has 1000/100, I am not sure what they mean by competitive, but they are hiring far below their 2500/500.

 

[indianboy7]

$3,000 a month for a 10 year jet captain?! Not quite. That's about what a 10 year guy takes home every 2 weeks after taxes, deductions, etc. The media can't get anything right.

I think it's an allowable transgression...let 'em run with it.......I'd rather have people appaled at the fact that their captain is being underpaid rather than overpaid....... imp:

 

[Soverytired]

This article is full of it.

I seriously doubt Westminster college is graduating 110 commercial pilots per year. Anyone have a more realistic figure?

.

"FedEx pays an Airbus A380 captain with 10 years of experience $17,464 a month,"


FedEx has never paid an Airbus A380 captain anything at FedEx. It would be just as accurate to say that FedEx pays it's Airbus A380 captains 0 dollars but they get to pick one package each flight to take home for themselves.

Typically piss poor aviation reporting strikes again.

 

[hoover]

I think the next thing you will see is regionals aligning with Pt 141 flight schools for guaranteed jobs (instead of guaranteed interviews) once you graduate with CPL/ME.

 

[Bruno82]

Well AA pays 787 Captains $19 dollars a second.

 

[blueridge71]

Look at the big picture.

The fractionals are taking a ton of regional pilots and year 2 captain pay is equal to about year 7 captain pay at a regional. The majors are all recalling and/or hiring, taking more pilots out of the employment pool.

At the other end of the scale, VLJs are coming on line and will start taking some of the experienced CFIs and pilot mill grads who would normally go to the regionals. Meanwhile, regional contracts are getting worse and complaints are getting louder, so the airline profession is going to attract fewer people who do their homework on what they are getting into.

Put it all together and it spells trouble for the regionals. Skywest was, and may still be, having trouble getting enough new hires. ASA can't fill classes now, even with minimums at 600/100.

Normally at this point, the market would require a correction. Supply of qualified pilots is low, therefore the price for pilot labor should increase until a new equilibrium is set at a higher wage. However, collective bargaining agreements short-circuit the process. The same contracts that protected pilot wages as the industry tanked cause wage increases to occur more slowly as the industry rebounds.

 

[Tarzan]

I doubt the new hire stuff will change much. Most of these kids will do it for nothing. However, the regionals will need to retain their pilots. That's where you will start to see the carrot being dangled, at the mid seniority pilots.

 

[CopilotDoug]

It is all part of the 2007-hiring boom. World wide pilot shortage starts to spread to the US, just a predicted by the AW&ST about a year ago. Entry-level carriers have reduced their competitive hiring mins to Comm./MEL/Inst in order to fill classes. Cannot go any lower, the thing they will have to do is raise pay.

Thanks for trying, but you're wrong. The bar has been lowered, and it ain't going back up. Jobs are opening up because nobody wants these $hit working conditions for $hit pay with no stability and no chance of retirement. There was a great article in the business section of the Chicago Trib this past week. It focused on a former NWA pilot who left and went to Emirates. He highlighted all the benefits that Emirates provides him including, but not limited to free housing, a nice retirement, and a great paycheck. He's promoting Emirates, Cathay, and all the other forign airlines to American pilots. That's something you won't see at American companies