American Eagle has a Talented PR Rep!

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KennyFlys

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I'll just let you read on and note the highlighted portion...

[FONT=arial,helvetica,geneva]Pilot Shortage Hits Regionals[/FONT]


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American Eagle, the regional subsidiary of American Airlines, has trimmed flights from its winter schedule in part because it doesn't have enough pilots. "It's one of several reasons, but that does play into it," Eagle spokeswoman Andrea Huguely told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "The pilots are crucial, and without them, the planes don't fly." Eagle is one of several airlines that has cut minimum experience requirements by two-thirds to 500 hours to attract more recruits. According to the newspaper, Trans States Airlines, which operates a regional service for American under the name American Connection, briefly lowered its experience requirement to 250 hours during the summer. Although no one seems to deny the value of experience, industry spokesmen contacted by the newspaper seemed to agree that safety is not being seriously compromised.

"Anyone who raises safety as an issue has some other agenda," said Roger Cohen, president of the Regional Airline Association. "The airlines are spending a boatload of money on training and recruiting." Huguely agreed, saying Eagle picks its pilots carefully. "You can't just walk in from the street and say you want to be a pilot." But John Prater, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, says the rush to get new pilots "raises obvious safety concerns. "New pilots today are going straight into the [co-pilot's] seat, and moving into the [captain's] seat in a hurry," he said. "And they're doing it in airplanes that are great machines but can be unforgiving."
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Gosh, just how do you go about countering such an argument? :dunno:



:goofy:

Of course, a few articles down is a piece on Miami wanting to launch UAVs... over the city. :eek:
 
Interesting read, I guess the question I have is WHY is there a shortage of pilots?

Are the regionals really huring for pilots? I thought that was the place many of the jet jocks got their time building expieriance?
 
CapeCodJay said:
Interesting read, I guess the question I have is WHY is there a shortage of pilots?

Are the regionals really hurting for pilots? I thought that was the place many of the jet jocks got their time building experience?
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There's a lack of pilot candidates around the world. My own school has always trained CFIs from within rather than hire from outside sources. This last month, they had to take on three CFIs from elsewhere just to keep up with the student load.

He told me, "You don't have any idea how busy I can keep you with just primary students." I want to move on to teach Instrument and multi-engine, of course. But, they can't keep up with demand.

ASA has been bugging them as well. ASA would hold hiring seminars every month at the few large schools in Atlanta if they were allowed. Heck, last I heard ASA is losing pilots to the majors and other flight jobs faster than they can hire; at the rate of nearly one a day.

Maybe the answer to your question lies partly in it's not a huge moneymaking venture as it has been in years gone by. You've gotta be in the left seat for quite a long time with some serious over-water, heavy jet experience to get there.

It's a career choice where the training puts you heavily in debt and it takes a long time to begin to pay off.
 
KennyFlys said:
There's a lack of pilot candidates around the world. My own school has always trained CFIs from within rather than hire from outside sources. This last month, they had to take on three CFIs from elsewhere just to keep up with the student load.

He told me, "You don't have any idea how busy I can keep you with just primary students." I want to move on to teach Instrument and multi-engine, of course. But, they can't keep up with demand.

ASA has been bugging them as well. ASA would hold hiring seminars every month at the few large schools in Atlanta if they were allowed. Heck, last I heard ASA is losing pilots to the majors and other flight jobs faster than they can hire; at the rate of nearly one a day.
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What are the type of students? Older, younger, career minded? I would think that the cost would discourage young people.

It's a career choice where the training puts you heavily in debt and it takes a long time to begin to pay off.
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This is one I strugle with, because the cost of a 4 year lib. arts college is going to be 50K+ and say you major in Music, or Psyc. are you going to get out of college and make a lot of money?

Say you go to one of those pilot mills to get your ratings, and spend 60K are you any worse off then the libral arts kid with just as much debt?
 
CapeCodJay said:
Interesting read, I guess the question I have is WHY is there a shortage of pilots?
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There is a shortage of pilots willing to work for less the $20k/year

http://www.willflyforfood.cc/airlinepilotpay/Trans_States_Airlines_Pilot_Pay.php

5 years later you will earn about $25k

Or be a teach and earn $45k to start. Both jobs require a 4 year degree, both are important but with one you can raise a family with the other you need a second job to get off of the mighty dog meal wagon.
 
CapeCodJay said:
What are the type of students? Older, younger, career minded? I would think that the cost would discourage young people.

This is one I strugle with, because the cost of a 4 year lib. arts college is going to be 50K+ and say you major in Music, or Psyc. are you going to get out of college and make a lot of money?

Say you go to one of those pilot mills to get your ratings, and spend 60K are you any worse off then the libral arts kid with just as much debt?
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My school is primarily professional pilot candidates, so mostly those in their early to mid 20's.

To get through MEI, one could expect to spend upward of $40 grand. Fuel prices have driven up the cost by several grand the last year alone.

There are some in later years who are either new to flying or had been a private pilot and chose to take a jump to professional. A couple weeks ago, I learned about a guy who had taught through multi-engine off and on for years. Suddenly, he got picked up by ASA.

Our school is far from a pilot mill like ATP or a couple others. I would never train nor teach at such a school given some of the stories I've heard. It's worked well for a few but I believe they are the exception rather than the rule.
 
smigaldi said:
There is a shortage of pilots willing to work for less the $20k/year

http://www.willflyforfood.cc/airlinepilotpay/Trans_States_Airlines_Pilot_Pay.php

5 years later you will earn about $25k

Or be a teach and earn $45k to start. Both jobs require a 4 year degree, both are important but with one you can raise a family with the other you need a second job to get off of the mighty dog meal wagon.
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I won't deny my job pays ****, but it tends to get over stated. While our guarantee (hourly rate is $21 for first year FO times 75 hours guaranteed a month) is less than 20k, the odds that you're going to fly only the minimum are EXTREMELY slim. This month I'm scheduled to fly 96 hours, with 17 days off, and fairly easy days (1305 show, home by 2100 most days...the perfect schedule in my book). The last three months, my lowest month was 92 hours flown with 132 hrs pay credit. My best month was last month with 118 hours flown (I got the entire last week of the month off because we time out at 120 hours) and a 162 hours pay credit. I'm on track to earn well over 20k this year, and I haven't even been trying, really. It may be a little tougher to get so much flying at some of the RJ operators, but that's just another reason why I love the turbo-prop (remember, turbine time is turbine time to the majors/fractional/etc).

I can promise you anyone who's been here longer than 5 years is making well over 25k. Most of the CAs I fly with are just starting their 3rd year hear and are living quite comfortably.

It's not the best or most stable industry, but I've been supporting myself, my fiancee, and her retarded cat for the last 6 months (through two cross-country moves). I quite thankful that she starts working next week, finally, but we live in a pretty nice condo and haven't had to subsist on PB&J quite yet. So long as you're willing to put in the effort, this isn't that bad of a job. Worst case scenario, yes, you're going to need food stamps even with the job, but in today's industry it won't be hard to keep flying for food.
 
CapeCodJay said:
Interesting read, I guess the question I have is WHY is there a shortage of pilots?

Are the regionals really huring for pilots? I thought that was the place many of the jet jocks got their time building expieriance?
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Absolutely. Here at Colgan, we're aiming to hire 40/month and not making that goal. We're seriously under staffed for all three of our airframes. We park next to Piedmont and Air Whiskey who are in the same boat. I have a good friend over at Comair (he just started IOE about two weeks ago) who said their class was only about half full. A friend of mine from ATP is now flying the ERJ at TSA and the story is the same over there...staffing shortages giving everyone extra flying and canceled flights due to lack of crew. Every regional pilot I talk to is the same. Even Horizon, what I consider one of the best regionals in the air today, has had to cancel flights recently because of crew shortages.

Sure the regionals are where all the jet jocks go for time building; the problem being, they build their time so fast they're out of the regionals quicker than they can be replaced. The upward movement in the industry is insane; the majors and big name charter/fractionals are hiring at record pace, the regionals are losing pilots hourly to those companies, they're then stealing instructors from all over nation, so now there's a lack of qualified instructors who don't have an interview date with a regional. It's a self depleting industry and there's just no keeping up right now. Being an airline pilot has lost it's mystery - that certain jeunes'est que - so there just aren't as many aspiring pilots as there used to be.

I spent just over two years working as a photojournalist at the NBC affiliate in Des Moines. I was planning on making a career out of that. I love videography, but now I would never go back. It may not be as glamorous as it used to be, but this is still a great job, in my opinion.
 
Out of curiosity, how long is this hiring boom expected to last? We all know the industry could change very quickly, although not very likely. I've got 2.5 yrs left on my USAF commitment and am contimplating a career change. Wondering if the killer opportunities will still be there.
 
AWACSEng said:
Out of curiosity, how long is this hiring boom expected to last? We all know the industry could change very quickly, although not very likely. I've got 2.5 yrs left on my USAF commitment and am contimplating a career change. Wondering if the killer opportunities will still be there.
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Two and a half years is an eternity in this business. Anything can happen. We have been known to hire like gangbusters right up until the day we start furloughing.
 
Guess I'll just have to wait and see, but prepare finacially and mentally for the change of scenery.
 
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