A change
needs to happen within the regional airlines, and it needs to happen soon. Before
they know it, a majority of the regional carriers will not have enough pilots
to safely dispatch their flights. The shortage is slowly getting worse and the
decreasing numbers of pilots will also impact the potential of the major
airlines as well. There has been speculation that the current pilot shortage
within the regional airlines has been provoked by the extremely low pilot
wages. Additionally, some believe it is from the increase of pilots retiring
from the airlines. One could argue either way, but they both collaborate and
are slowly creating issues for the regional carriers.
Digging
deeper into the issue, majority of the pilot shortage comes from the lack of
effort from the regional airlines to provide pilots with sufficient wages. The
annual pay for a regional pilot is not what many believe it should be, “Regional
carriers pay pilots an annual average of $27,350” (Olinga, 2016). With that
being said, “Most airlines prefer or require a four-year degree on top of
extensive flight training. Experts say its not unusual for someone to
accumulate $150,000 in educational debt by the time they’re breaking into the
business” (Linkhorn, 2015). It doesn’t seem fair that a person with a degree and
who has paid over $100,000 is making a lower annual income than somebody on
welfare, The issue that is extremely irritating is that “welfare pays more than
the average pretax first-year wage for a teacher [in those states]. In 39
states, it pays more than the starting wage for a secretary. And, in the three
most generous states a person on welfare can take home more money than an
entry-level computer programmer” (Cronin, 2013). It is a professional job that requires
thousands of hours of training, yet the regional pilots receive less money than
the average welfare recipient. Not only do the pilots receive a terrible
income, but they also deal with long work days, lack of sleep, and a poor
living environment.
The low income
of a regional pilot is definitely turning the attention away from the regional
industry. This essentially backfires at the major airlines, because the
regionals are used as a stepping stone job for pilots to get to the major
airlines. If there aren’t enough pilots flying for the regionals, then how will
the major airlines continue to keep their flights operating? It’s a vicious
cycle that could potentially ruin the commercial industry if these companies do
not figure something out. It is simple, “Fewer pilots are willing to commit
hundreds of thousands of dollars into their training and education for a career
with such a limited return on investment, in what has historically been a very
unstable industry" (Olinga, 2016).
Flight
training has since gone up in overall cost due to the recent Colgan Air crash
that happened in February of 2009. In
response the Colgan Air accident, the FAA established a new regulation that
pilots must have a minimum of 1500 hours and “the new hourly requirements made
it more expensive to become a pilot in the first place” (Fitzpatrick, 2016). Instead
of looking into the fatigue issues of the accident, the FAA issued stronger
regulations. It’s a way of making the public feel better about flying with the
airlines, but it has only had a negative impact on the airlines so far. This is
one of the main reasons why the regionals are struggling to find new pilots,
because it is taking student pilots twice as much time and money to even apply
for a position. It is a debate in progress, but as “lawmaker’s debate new
aviation rules, regional airlines have been trying to convince them it’s
time to rethink the 1,500 hour requirement. But the idea will be a tough sell
with passengers, many of whom are bound to feel safer with a more experienced
pilot, regardless of what the academics say” (Fitzpatrick, 2016). Essentially,
the passengers think of total flight time rather than how the pilots are
treated. It has been proven over time that regional pilots get minimum hours of
sleep and experience fatigue on a daily basis. Rather than focusing on the public’s
concern on flight hours, the attention should be towards the pilots actually
flying the aircraft and helping them by providing a more reasonable working
experience.
In addition
to the issue of regional pilot life style, majority of pilots end up commuting;
“Commuting is another major stressor. A huge portion of airline pilots, whether
by choice or circumstances beyond their control, live somewhere other than
their base“(Weigel, 2013). Commuting takes away from the 10 hour rest period
that pilots are given, so take that into consideration when pilots fly multiple
flights throughout the day. Since most pilots commute, they end up finding a
crash pad and splitting the rent with multiple pilots, and these crash pads can
be as small as one bedroom apartments. The lifestyle of a regional pilot is not
something most people aspire to do, and that is why there is a lack of
motivation towards the career.
Whether it
is the rate of retiring pilots causing the shortage or the lifestyle and pay of
regional pilots that is creating such a problem, something needs to be done.
Some improvising that these companies should consider would be reimbursement of
flight training or even providing the training for their future pilots. It is
strongly encouraged that these regional carriers increase the pay or else they
will not have the demand of pilots to fulfill their flight operations. The
public will end up getting irritated for the lack of flights and the increase
of flight cancellations, but they don’t understand the issue behind all of it.
Something needs to happen soon or else these companies will all fall apart.
References:
Fitzpatrick, A. (2016, March 23).
Time. Here’s the Major Crisis the Airlines Are Facing Now.
Retrieved from http://time.com/4257940/pilot-shortage/
Linkhorn, T. (2015, April 12).
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Airline Pilots Today: Less Glamour, but
Returning Stability. Retrieved from http://www.post-gazette.com/business/2015/04/12/Airline-pilots-today-less-glamour-but-returning-to-stability/stories/201504120168
Olinga, L. (2015, March 7). Yahoo
News. Pilot Shortage Hits US Regional Airlines. Retrieved from
https://www.yahoo.com/news/pilot-shortage-hits-us-regional-airlines-042334238.html?ref=gs
Weigel, S. (2013, June 7). Flying. A
Day in the Life of an RJ Pilot. Retrieved from
http://www.flyingmag.com/pilots-places/pilots-adventures-more/day-life-rj-pilot
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