What are our regionals doing wrong?

[AC560]

This industry has no barrier to entry, meaning anyone with money can do it. The current problem is a simple issue of this huge oversupply of labor gunning for a limited number of jobs.[

Which the free market solves by driving down wages to the point that people quit investing $80k to make $20k. Then the supply will contract and the demand will increase driving up wages. The only solution to the problem is time.

 

[mcjohn]

AC560, I'm no expert but your posts seemed right on. That brings a lot together for me and helps lower the frustration. Myself, as a poor pilot who scraped up the funds to train, have no intention to rush to the airlines right away. Enjoying flying is too important to me so I'm currently sticking with the challenge of building ways to have plenty to fall back on. So far CFI, now tailwheel (banners, ag.), cargo, then will come seaplane, and then maybe rotor, and then I'll take a look at the airlines.

 

[sky37d]

Good for you. But always remember this, when you are Aviateing (sp,ugh), Navigating, and Communicateing, remember to communicate with the folks in the back. Nothing quite as frustrating as wondering WTF is going on.

 

[mcjohn]

Yeah, your story revealed a strange situation. Maybe the pilots forgot they had human cargo on board. No exuse for that.
Here's a hook ball, I bet those pilot never CFIed. At least not for long because having no concern for the comfort of students will leave a CFI with no students.

 

[sky37d]

They probably came from xxx (name your favorite PFT) academy

 

[Corona]

Salaries for healthcare professionals decayed substantially in the 70/80's which resulted in a lot of people either leaving or chosing not to join the healthcare industry. In the 90's a shortage began to develop and salaries have been on a upturn ever since (and by heatlcare professionals I am not refering to doctors). Teachers would be another example, there are loads of other examples out there.

Pilot salaries are in the toilet because there are way to many pilots and way to many people who want to be pilots (what other industry do people PAY to get a job). Couple this by having far to many planes in the air and the economics lead you to only one conclusion, ground planes, cut salaries, and fire pilots.

The turn about will be though that in 5-10yrs because people have fled the industry, not started in the industry (and everyone posting here keeps telling new people to forget even trying to start in this industry), and retirement there is going to be a pilot crunch. This will drive salaries up.

I don't know what else Pilotyip maybe right or wrong on, but he is correct that in a couple of years salaries and demand for pilots will surge.

There's plenty of demand for pilots today; the problem is that the pay and QOL are crap for most jobs.

There was a thread here a couple years ago by a fellow whose dad flew a 50-seat turboprop for NWA 30 years ago. The dad made the current equivalent of $165,000/year flying as Captain. Those days will never return; that was my point. Wages at the bottom of the industry, where most pilots reside, are at or near rock-bottom; obviously there is nowhere else for salaries to go but up, so no rocket-science research is needed there.

I don't know where the hiring surge you & Pilotyip refer to will come from...cargo, most likely? The pax side of aviation is over-saturated as everyone knows. Perhaps the new VLJ planes will add some new jobs, though that is not their market focus.

At any rate, an aviation career is probably like surfing: If you're lucky, you catch a good wave; if you're not, you get rolled then eaten by sharks.

C

 

[ReportCanoa]

Just spoke to a buddy of mine who upgraded at Ryanair on the 738 at 3000TT. His pay after 6 months as a Captain is the equivalent of US$9500 per month.

After income tax, high cost of living, and you're making what an RJ captain makes stateside.