Pilot Shortages

[jujubiee4]

I thought with the recent travel delays and cancellations that is was mostly weather.

However i just read this today in an article.

"The pilot shortage for the industry is real, and most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plans because there simply aren't enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years," United CEO Scott Kirby said in a quarterly earnings call in April, per CNBC.

5 years? And this summer suppose to be the busiest the last 2 or 3 years. Where did the pilots go? Did they all retire/take buyouts? Not being paid enough? Burnout?


https://news.yahoo.com/us-airlines-delta-united-desperate-125200170.html

 

[k5xs]

There are a lot of factors.

This article explains them well:

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/co...eaves-airlines-scrambling-solutions-rcna28913

This graphic summarizes the issue for regional carriers pretty well:

https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel...age-a-growing-problem-in-regional-air-service

 

[rwdavis2]

On Saturday the co-pilot of our plan had a family emergency and it took 4.5 hours to finally get a new one.

 

[MillauFr]

The airlines are just going to have to hire trainees with 0 hours flying time and pay to train them. People are just not going to tolerate paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to gain flight time to be hired by an regional airline paying them $50k per year. I mean who would sign up for a deal like that?

 

[OKW Lover]

The big air travel issues experienced recently are due to weather. Pilot shortages play into it only to the extent that there are fewer flights so the recovery from a weather event is prolonged.

 

[gharter]

I think the pilot shortage does play into fewer flights being available as well as cancelling flights they thought they would have pilots for, but don't.

 

[_19disnA]

There are a lot of factors.

This graphic summarizes the issue for regional carriers pretty well:

https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel...age-a-growing-problem-in-regional-air-service

That article was written in 2016, long before anyone knew what covid was.

 

[k5xs]

That article was written in 2016, long before anyone knew what covid was.

That doesn't change a thing. The pilot shortage in 2016 was driven largely by the very same factors that are driving it in 2022.

 

[Swimmergirl]

My husband is a pilot for Southwest. Right now the company is in talks with the union about extending the mandatory retirement age by a few years. The pilot shortage is definitely playing into the problem. I know Southwest is hiring and training new pilots as fast as they possibly can.

 

[Donna M]

My son just finished Air Force training to be a pilot on the big refuelers, so he´ll be applying to the majors soon (since he is Air National Guard.) That´s one more!

 

[focusondisney]

My husband is a pilot for Southwest. Right now the company is in talks with the union about extending the mandatory retirement age by a few years. The pilot shortage is definitely playing into the problem. I know Southwest is hiring and training new pilots as fast as they possibly can.

Is the mandatory retirement age an airline rule or a federal regulation? I know I heard about people trying to change it, but wasn’t sure who.

 

[Swimmergirl]

Is the mandatory retirement age an airline rule or a federal regulation? I know I heard about people trying to change it, but wasn’t sure who.

The FAA regulates it. About 10 years ago they raised the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65. I think there's a bill proposing to bump it up to 68, so the pilot unions are feeling out their members to see what they think. Some older captains would like to work longer, some first officers (like my husband) aren't fans since it will postpone his time to upgrade.

 

[focusondisney]

The FAA regulates it. About 10 years ago they raised the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65. I think there's a bill proposing to bump it up to 68, so the pilot unions are feeling out their members to see what they think. Some older captains would like to work longer, some first officers (like my husband) aren't fans since it will postpone his time to upgrade.

Thank you for the info!

 

[Robbie Cottam]

I thought with the recent travel delays and cancellations that is was mostly weather.

However i just read this today in an article.

"The pilot shortage for the industry is real, and most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plans because there simply aren't enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years," United CEO Scott Kirby said in a quarterly earnings call in April, per CNBC.

5 years? And this summer suppose to be the busiest the last 2 or 3 years. Where did the pilots go? Did they all retire/take buyouts? Not being paid enough? Burnout?


https://news.yahoo.com/us-airlines-delta-united-desperate-125200170.html

There has been a pilot shortage for almost the last 8 years.

Pre Covid regional carriers had to park airplane because they simple could not crew the airplanes. Regional airlines are paying upward of 130,000 dollars in bonuses over the first year and are still having a hard time filing the seats

Some of the legacy major airlines have dropped their requirement for a 4 year degree.

where did all the pilots go? Mandatory retirement at age 65. The cost of training a pilot is now approaching $120,000 dollars. Since the Colgan crash in Buffalo the SIC now needs a lot more experience, that simply can’t purchased.

The current pilot shortage hasn’t been effecting the major airlines up to this point, but it is nothing new and is going to get worst before it gets better.

 

[gopherit]

I got stuck along with a full flight of other passengers, about 1.5 hrs before our flight - not enough crew (couldn't extend them).
Because the other issue you have is that even if you have a pilot - you can't keep them on the clock forever.... they do need to rest!

The tragedy was that I had cut my business trip deliberately short because I had PROMISED I would be home in time for my son's school awards day the next morning.
Had just checked in the rental car (which was frankly not easy to get either - those are in short supply!), went to check in - learned flight was cancelled.
Tried my best (alternate airlines / airports of departure & arrival, other modes of transport ... I pride myself on being courteously resourceful, but no dice. Every other seat was full, and frankly there just weren't that many options anyway. SW put me up in a hotel, gave me a "Luv" voucher... I grabbed a sandwich, a shuttle, and contacted DH and another mom to take pics / video of son's award event.
It happens. And when it does - it really , REALLY sucks. I did at least get safely home the next day (after his event, of course... but in time to take him out for lunch.)

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I do not see the shortage affecting flights at this point. Perhaps it does and that’s beyond my scope, but unmanned flights (at least at our airline) are posted for premium pay and get gobbled up faster than you can you can hit the request button. Nothing cancelled.

Now, going forward my guess is the airlines will just reduce the number of flights.

Hiring new, qualified pilots, is a tricky business.