Pilot shortages: ‘Worth digging deeper’, says In-Flight Crew Connections
Pilot shortages are still causing concern and it’s worth probing the origins of the shortfall, says In-Flight Crew Connections. (Photocredit: Pixabay).
Worries about pilot shortages may be justified but “it’s worth digging a little deeper” into the origins of the shortfall, according to Clint Cannaday, Operations & Safety Analyst, In-Flight Crew Connections.
Judging by data from airlines and from different operators, there has been a pilot and captain shortage, says Cannaday. “Due to regulations and insurance requirements, a freshly-minted 800 hour pilot or 1,500 hour pilot (as airline hiring cooled down) could not land a job,” he tells CJI. “While the regionals previously hired many low-hour pilots to fill first officer positions as captains moved to the mainline, it left a void.”
Also, airlines struggled to find qualified pilots to meet the demands caused by retirements. The regional airlines appeared to struggle to find captains and mainline was short pilots as well, the corporate industry was losing countless pilots to legacy airlines to fill direct entry positions, he said.
Further evidence is supplied by consulting firm Oliver Wyman. It estimates a pilot shortfall across North America would continue for the next decade, said Cannaday. Airline retirements are predicted to peak in 2025 – 2026, along with industry growth, presenting more challenges to resolving the shortfall.
“It will be interesting to see what happens over the next two years,” he adds. “Of course, many things will play into this from new aircraft deliveries, state of the economy, etc.” In-Flight Crew Connections has a large pool of pilots and we are positioned to provide high quality on short notice. (Don’t miss CJI’s recent One Minute Week probing pilot shortages).
Meanwhile, apparently bucking the global trend in pilot hires, British Airways revealed at Farnborough Airshow, UK its plan to fully-fund up to 200 places on its Speedbird Pilot Academy recruitment programme for 2025. “The money provides real opportunity for people who have been put off from applying to become a commercial airline pilot because of the £100k cost of training,” it said.
