Flight Training - July 2014 - 48

ADVANCED PILOT»

IN ORDER TO PAY BRAND-NEW
FIRST OFFICERS AT THE
REGIONALS A STARTING WAGE
OF $40,000 PER YEAR, IMAGINE
THE COST OF TICKETS AND THE
HIT TO THE AIR LINES' PROFIT
MARGINS.

Now the irony that adds to the
confusion: In the same publication
within days of Klein's article comes
Justin Bachman's article, "Yes,
there's a pilot shortage: salaries
start at $21,000." Bachman takes
a real-life snapshot as to what is
happening right now.
"A pilot shortage has forced
smaller airlines to cancel flights
and ground jets, a side effect of
federal regulations that have dramatically increased the minimum
number of flight hours required for
new pilots. The labor shortage and
service cuts have hit first and most
sharply at the regional airlines that
ferry passengers from small markets on behalf of bigger carriers.
One of the largest regionals, Republic Airways Holdings, plans to stop
flying 27 of its 41 Embraer 50-seat
jets because of the pilot shortage.
That decision will lower income as
much as $22 million this year."
"Flight cuts caused by the pilot
shortage have rippled from the
tiniest of airlines to major hubs.

Wyoming-based Great Lakes Airlines ended service to a half-dozen
small towns on February 1 after
seeing its pilot ranks slashed from
more than 300 to fewer than 100.
United, meanwhile, explained the
recent plan to dismantle its Cleveland hub in part by pointing to the
inability of regional carriers to staff
all of its flights there."
Bachman hits home with this:
"And the stingy pay, in turn, exacerbates the pilot shortage. Not only
does it make jobs less appealing, but
the small salaries also combine with
more onerous federal training rules
to put many pilots deep in debt."
The pundits who say that there is
no pilot shortage are partially correct. There are some 600,000 pilots
who fly airplanes. These pundits
think that, if the industry changes
its ways and all domestic carriers-
large and small-treat their pilots
like Emirates, then there will be no
shortage. Of course.
Sadly, that is not the state of
affairs in the U.S. airline industry.

In order to pay brand-new first officers at the regionals a nice starting
wage of $40,000 per year, imagine
the cost of tickets and the hit to the
airlines' profit margins. Will the flying public and airline stockholders
stand for it?
Perhaps the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) will
put an end to the debate. In a
report released in February, the
GAO says the pilot shortage will
become more evident, partially
because flight schools report
fewer applicants entering training because of escalating costs
and higher hour requirements for
starting airline pilots. Such costs
deter pilots from pursuing a career.
As a result, 11 of 12 regional airlines
surveyed failed to reach their
recruitment goals last year, according to the GAO report.
Is there a pilot shortage at the
big jet carriers? No. But here is the
reality today: Fewer people are
motivated to pay the exceptionally
high admission price to the airline
industry as an RJ pilot with meager
payback in the short term. Those
who do hope to cash in eventually with bigger paychecks at the
mainline carriers. Maybe it's just
semantics, but the current situation
at the lower rungs of the airline
career ladder seems to conform to
the meaning of "pilot shortage,"
and that's the exact term that the
government researchers use.
Wayne Phillips manages the Airline Training Orientation Program (www.atopjets.
com).

NEED A FIRC? RENEW ONLINE OR IN PERSON
With the Air Safety Institute's Flight Instructor Refresher
Clinics, you have your choice of whether to renew online,
at your own pace and in your home, or in person at one of
more than 90 locations around the United States.
Whichever you choose, you can renew anytime within
your four-month renewal period, and you will maintain

48 /

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your original expiration date. The fee for the online
renewal is $124. For the two-day in-person FIRC, pay $235
if you pre-register, or $250 at the door.
For more information or to register, see the website
(www.aopa.org/Pilot-Resources/Flight-InstructorResources/CFI-Renewal.aspx).
http://www.atopjets.com http://www.atopjets.com http://www.aopa.org/Pilot-Resources/Flight-Instructor-Resources/CFI-Renewal.aspx http://FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG
Flight Training - July 2014

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