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Pilot shortage!!

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"The Wright Flyer needed only one pilot and two were available!"

ROFLMAO! :D

I have just about given up on anything other than small-time corporate or local 135. I started training again two years ago and after reading thousands or posts from BobbysAMD and others I came to better understand the nature of the industry and the people who run it. At my age and with a less than perfect record of public conduct :rolleyes: I have decided that I LOVE Navajos, King Airs, and old CE-500s :D.

Pilot shortage ....... JESUS H !!!!!!!!!

Minh
 
Experience shortage

There may have never been a pilot shortage, but there certainly was a shortage of pilots with the potential to rapidly upgrade. In 2000 we were upgrading pilots to DA-20 Captain after three months on line as an F/O, who three years earlier would not have meet our DA-20 F/O hiring minimums. The regionals were hiring 500 hr pilots with under 100 MEL, true there were always people looking for pilots jobs, but we got real deep in the experience barrel. Air Inc provides an excellent forum, about 1/3 of our pilots come from the Air Inc. system because we get to see the guys and talk to them before we bring them in for the interview. I wish they would have had something like this in the 1980's when I was "between jobs". Pilots who avoid using thier services are missing some great opportunities to sell themselves and find out what is going on in the market. Kit Darby does a great job.
 
Pilot shortage.......ha! The only people who use the term pilot shortage are flight school scumbags who are trying to get your money. If there is such a shortage why are they in the flight school business? You can still make it to the majors without a shortage, be patient, keep your nose clean, and do it right.

I have a "pilot shortage" it's my bank account.......furloughed.
 
For anyone who cares.....these are the total retirements at AA for the next 14 years.....out of 14371 pilots.....not much of a shortage. For the mentally challenged add the AA and TW columns together to get that years total.



AA TW
2002 130 96
2003 147 90
2004 208 59
2005 216 70
2006 297 64
2007 304 71
2008 441 59
2009 442 54
2010 375 43
2011 307 43
2012 297 39
2013 358 46
2014 441 46
2015 518 59
 
Everyone

That rare case when everthing above is correct and accurate.

Technically, no shortage now or before or ahead.

What people talk about is level of experience for given job. There is not much doubt that in 2000, you did not have to have significant experience to land a pilot job with a carrier.

It is the ebb and flow of experience level but not a shortage. Did the flight schools start that, no. Did they promote it, yes.

To call these people scumbags is totally uncalled for and reflects an unprofessionalism becoming entirely too common.

Yesterday when I was talking to two recruiters, the Southwest theme came up again. We hire the person not the hours. If there is a shortage, it is in the quality of individuals with some class and a good attitude about their profession, not pilots.
 
Re: Everyone

publisher said:
To call these people scumbags is totally uncalled for and reflects an unprofessionalism becoming entirely too common.

Yesterday when I was talking to two recruiters, the Southwest theme came up again. We hire the person not the hours. If there is a shortage, it is in the quality of individuals with some class and a good attitude about their profession, not pilots.



OK so now I'm unprofessional for calling a spade a spade. Any one who has spent any time in this industry knows there are plenty of unscrupulous operators, especially in training. Yes there are SCUMBAGS in aviation "Buttercup", open your eyes and don't step in the poo!

I guess my professionalism and character are good enough for that other Dallas carrier.
 
Pilot (and experience) "shortage"

Fair comments.

I can see where school recruiters could fall into the "scumbag" category. Many promise the moon about what their school will do for you, especially regarding placement and airline interview connections. They become scumbags when they do not, cannot or fail to deliver on their promises.

This seems to be true with vocational schools generally. My paralegal school advertised a 98% placement rate. After working for three commercial flight schools, I took that with a grain of salt. I was right. The school offered me little help in finding a job after I graduated. Truth is, I found my first job on my own.

Now, if they're just advertising their schools and say their schools offer the best airline-oriented training anywhere, that's just salesmanship and hype. In that case, the buyer must beware.

During the late 80s hiring boom, experience requirements ebbed and flowed. I believe that American Eagle and/or its subsidiaries such as Wings West and Nashville Eagle were advertising 3000 total and 1000 to 2000 of multi. Then, in about 1988, they dropped those requirements to 1500 total-500 multi. Somehow, at least in my mind, that requirement has become a benchmark because so many organizations have used it. The truth is, the quality of the applicant pool drives requirements. FAPA was truthful about one thing in its airline profiles; it would write about the published requirements but would add the actual hour totals at which airlines were interviewing.

Once again, there is no pilot shortage. Just don't give up on trying unless you have to.
 
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Yesterday when I was talking to two recruiters, the Southwest theme came up again. We hire the person not the hours. If there is a shortage, it is in the quality of individuals with some class and a good attitude about their profession, not pilots.

So why does SWA, Jetblow, FEDX all want 1000 PIC MINIMUM in large turbine aircraft. I have over 7500 hours with over 3500 in 727's as FE, FO, and PIC, but only 800 as PIC and they don't even want to know my name. Quantity over quality. It's hard to keep a positive attitude when you aren't qualified to apply for a startup when you have 12 years of commercial experience.
 
ROTFLMAO

Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off
 

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