Is there a pilot shortage in the near future? Some aviation enthusiasts
believe that there is going to be a great demand for pilots. There are a few
reasons as to why this could happen. First, there is going to be many pilots
reaching the sixty five year old retirement rule all around the same time. With
this happening it is going to create many jobs among the commercial and regional
airline companies. With pilots moving from the regional airlines to the
commercial airlines there will be shortage on the regional level. The regional pilots
will have to start looking for new young pilots to take the low paying
positions. However, there is another issue that has been just put into effect.
The FAA just past a regulation that will require airline companies to only hire
pilots with a minimum of fifteen hundred hours. This regulation will add to the
pilot shortage. It will take a while for the first wave of young pilots to gain
the fifteen hundred hours. Once they finally begin to gain enough hours the
shortage should start to subside.
Aviation is very important to society. Thousands and
thousands of flight each day travel to worldwide destinations. A pilot shortage
will not just hurt the United States, but the world aviation community as a
whole. Many countries already recruit young pilots from the U.S. as it is. If
more and more pilots begin to take jobs overseas because of better pay or the
sole fact that it is easier to get a job, then the U.S. regional carriers could
potentially suffer even more. Countries such as China are in high demand for
pilots. With their giant population continuing to grow, aviation in that part
of the world continues to thrive and grow daily. According to Boeing, “the only
part of the world where aviation is not rapidly growing is Europe.” With
aviation growing in the way it is a pilot shortage is very possible.
Boeing also suggests that there are companies expanding and
purchasing new aircraft. There will need to be about 25,000 pilots hired each
year to support the growth of commercial aviation. Along with the previously identified issues
such as retirement and hour regulations, Boeing believes that the cause of this
is airlines changing to single isle aircraft. Airline companies add new
aircraft and usually do not initially get rid of older ones. This causes the
need for more pilots to fly the new aircraft added to their fleets.
Commercial aviation in the United States is going to have to
come to its senses and figure out a way to retain its own pilots. Countries
such as China are going to have success in luring pilots overseas if they can
offer a much higher salary. Regional carriers are also going to have to figure
out a way to bring pilots into their systems. Ways they could recruit pilots
could be either offering a higher salary, or possibly helping young pilots with
the expense of gaining hours. The next few years could be a trying time for the
aviation industry in the U.S., but I believe the airline companies will be able
to keep growing and move forward.
Trajos, Nancy. "Airlines Face a Pilot Shortage, Boeing
Report Says." USA Today. Gannett, 29 Aug.
2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.
"Ace's Blog." IMPENDING PILOT SHORTAGE MYTH OR
REALITY Comments. The Rogue Aviator, 2 May
2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.
Schaal, Dennis. "Regional Airlines’ Pilot Shortage Is
Heading Toward the Perfect Storm." Skift. N.p.,
25 Aug. 2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.
Ng, Jeffrey. "The Free Automatic Bibliography and
Citation Generator." EasyBib. Wall Street Journal,
23 Aug. 2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.
I like the concept you touch on in your second paragraph. Aviation is very important to our modern society. In fact, it’s integral to a global economy. I find the fact that our legislature hinders progress in the aviation industry at home rather discouraging.
ReplyDeleteIn the same way that the US was able to dominate much of the market throughout the information age due to the availability of technologically apt human resources, I think that the continuation of our presence in a global market is going to require appropriate aviation personnel. To worsen the problem we pass countless regulations to make it difficult for aspiring aviation professionals, meanwhile nations around the globe are already competing fiercely over the available pilots.
I’m not sure that this is going to create a hardship for the industry as much as it will generate change. I believe that the industry will find a way to hire enough employees; they just will not be able to with the way things are being run at the moment. Airlines are going to have to start paying entry level pilots more, or offer to pay for more training, they might have to raise ticket prices or charge for carry-on luggage. Another thing to consider is that they are projecting more business in the future which means more money, whatever the case may be I don’t see the airlines hurting, I just see them changing.
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