FAA to change regulations regarding Regional Airlines

[colomtnflyer]

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2009/07/regional_airlines.html

"Nevertheless, the Federal Aviation Administration is seeking a rapid overhaul of rules that govern pilot training and scheduling because of concerns about a Colgan Air plane, flying as Continental Connection, that crashed in February in Buffalo, N.Y., killing 50 people. Investigators say the pilots were tired, insufficiently trained and poorly paid.

Legislation to require more stringent screening and training standards for pilots who fly for commercial air carriers is scheduled to be introduced Tuesday in the House."


In another article I read (can't find the link at the moment), they stated that the minimum hrs for a flight crew member would be raised to 1500, which sure sounds like they will be requiring an ATP to act as a crew member of any Pt 121 Airline.

 

[tonycondon]

maybe the crew wouldn't have been as tired if the company didn't outlaw sleeping in the crew lounge.

 

[Everskyward]

In another article I read (can't find the link at the moment), they stated that the minimum hrs for a flight crew member would be raised to 1500, which sure sounds like they will be requiring an ATP to act as a crew member of any Pt 121 Airline.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j6kIhmra3u23RdLDY8P5HV03qgxgD99OBVT80

Lawmakers want to raise the minimum number of flight hours required to become an airline pilot from the current 250 to 1,500 and give air carriers greater access to the past training records of pilots they're considering hiring. Revising the rules governing how many hours pilots can be required to work before they're given rest also is being considered.

 

[colomtnflyer]

Thanks, Mari... that was exactly the article I was referring to! Just couldn't remember how I had found it.

 

[Everskyward]

Thanks, Mari... that was exactly the article I was referring to! Just couldn't remember how I had found it.

Google is your friend. Besides, I had been thinking about posting it too.

Glad you are done rehabbing but it's not much like summer here today!

 

[SkyHog]

I dunno, I'm kind of torn on this....

I would assume most pilots will be against it because it creates a new barrier to entry....

But it seems that inexperience is a hell of a detriment to airline flight.

The question is - will pay/ticket prices go up?

 

[EdFred]

I am all for it.

 

[CJones]

I better hurry up and get CP done, then. 1500hrs is a LONG ways off at my pace...

 

[tonycondon]

It would be interesting to see how (if) this gets implemented. Would current FO's under 1500 hrs be grandfathered? maybe if starting wages go up i'll have to get an airline job.

 

[Everskyward]

I would assume most pilots will be against it because it creates a new barrier to entry....

Depends on if you have 1500 hours or not. Pilots with more than 1500 hours might support it because it would create less competition.

 

[taters]

Depends on if you have 1500 hours or not. Pilots with more than 1500 hours might support it because it would create less competition.

Personally I think Atp for all crew in121 ops is great.ATP req.would actually give crap wages a chance to go up as well as a much needed improvement in QOL..and not to mention better..more experienced pilots...no more "zero to hero" wonderchildren in the right seat.I used to work for the airlines and dont want to go on a rant on this one...but going to prison is a better deal than being a regional airline pilot right now.. I hope it gets better

 

[Tristar]

I'm torn on this too. In one hand flying a jet with a lot of passengers is a very high demand job. I can't say I'd want someone flying the airliner I'm on with just a few hundred hours. However I dont know what the hour requirement is for the captain but I would hope it would be higher.

On the other hand, if you raise the requirement to 1500 it will decrease competition but that competition has to go somewhere. The first place I see it going is towards CFIs. If you haven't noticed, layoffs aren't just in the airline industry. They're also in the smaller hometown airports. Aviation has always been a competitive industry but like I said, although they do solve the problem of mitigating risks, that competition will go somewhere and I don't like it when it heads my direction.

 

[Richard]

This is knee jerk governmental BS.

The bar is raised to 1500 hours. That's a minimum for ATP certification. This will result in an upset of the equalibrium as it now exists. As Tristan pontificated, the competition will flow towards her end until she and others like her obtain the 1500 hour standard.

The new whatever perhaps constitutes a betterment for the flying public and the aspiring commercial pilots can go suck on their <deleted>. The other side of that is those, once having gotten an ATP rating, will give the big Fickle Finger of Fate to the 121 carriers and opt out to go Pt 135. It wouldn't be like they don't have enough reason already. The onus this time is specific to the low time pilot. A working pilot can go from zero to hero in 3-5 yrs if they hurry. A newly minted CFI could acquire an additional 800-1200 hrs in one year. That would assume 1500 hours within 12-18 months if starting with 250 hrs to get the Comm ticket.

Disallowing this latest FAA BS, the current economy and the historic cyclic nature of scheduled air carriers is enough to dictate that a five year span is hardly a blink of an eye.

Big picture, what will change? The 121s will find another excuse to blame their **** poor performance onto someone else~although now it will be duly sanctioned by Congressional oversight~and business will still be business, however it may be defined under 14CFR.

It's Congress in action, folks.

 

[Richard]

Personally I think Atp for all crew in121 ops is great.ATP req.would actually give crap wages a chance to go up as well as a much needed improvement in QOL..and not to mention better..more experienced pilots...no more "zero to hero" wonderchildren in the right seat.I used to work for the airlines and dont want to go on a rant on this one...but going to prison is a better deal than being a regional airline pilot right now.. I hope it gets better

I disagree. The 1500 hr protocol would simply push down to signify the new entry level. Flying is cool which means there are too many wanna be pilots willing to work for food. Wages will stay depressed because they are not tied to entry level requirements.

As for QOL, it's all right there in the flight and duty log.

I mean, go back a couple decades...what, 3000 hrs FOs? Go back another decade and the airlines were actively recruiting warm bodies off the streets. The only thing different now is the Congress intervention.

I used to track the 121 carriers using the FAA projected data. At first, my interest was to ascertain how accurate the FAA was. Then I started noticing things like ebbs and flows in RPMs and cyclic swings in hiring/furloughs. Anyway, without digressing even further, I'll just say that the historic 12 yr cycle became 8 yrs and then after 9/11, 3-5 yrs. Now it's anyone's guess as far as I know. The industry is plum crazy and this includes the regionals and the majors and unionized employee concessions.

 

[Everskyward]

However I dont know what the hour requirement is for the captain but I would hope it would be higher.

You need an ATP to be captain of a 121 flight so by default you would need at least 1500 hours.

§ 121.437 Pilot qualification: Certificates required
(a) No pilot may act as pilot in command of an aircraft (or as second in command of an aircraft in a flag or supplemental operation that requires three or more pilots) unless he holds an airline transport pilot certificate and an appropriate type rating for that aircraft.

Aviation has always been a competitive industry but like I said, although they do solve the problem of mitigating risks, that competition will go somewhere and I don't like it when it heads my direction.

I don't know how much risk you mitigate by going to 1500 hours for the SIC although I agree that it would be some undefinable amount. The SIC in the Buffalo accident had more than 1500 hours. I think hours count for something but training, screening and relevant experience count for much more.

I understand what you are saying about competition headed your way but unfortunately aviation had always been competitive and it still is at all levels. When you are looking for a job it seems like you never quite have the right combination of hours or qualifications even if you have far more than 1500 because as your hours rise your expectations do too.