Flying Cheap and Professionalism

Flying Cheap and Professionalism

I believe a pilot shortage will be coming to us soon. According to a study by the University of North Dakota, "That looming pilot deficit will soar to 15,000 by 2026 as more captains reach the mandatory retirement age of 65 and fewer young people choose commercial aviation as a profession." (Sasso, 2016) With such a shortage coming to the industry, some look to find out what is the reason behind this issue. There are two reasons people believe why such a shortage is about to occur.

 The first reason is due to pilot pay. Yes, captains of major airlines can make well over hundreds of thousands of dollars, but his won’t happen until the pilot is well established in their career. "the Air Line Pilots Association estimates that the average starting salary is even lower than that — $22,500 per year, which for a 40-hour work week equals an hourly rate of $10.75." (Zillman, 2014)

 The second reason for the shortage is older pilots are reaching the mandatory retirement age. "aircraft manufacturer Boeing predicts a need for 112,000 new pilots in North America—and 617,000 worldwide—over the next 20 years. The report also predicts a growing need for aircraft mechanics and cabin crew." (Orr, 2016) Over a hundred thousand pilots are needed within the next 20 years is a high expectation. Too many pilots are leaving the industry, and too little pilots are entering it.

Personally I have dealt with the expenses of flight school. The reason I believe no new people want to enter the industry is because of the very low salary starting at a regional. Student loans almost are almost impossible to avoid. Upon graduation the newly rated pilots will be low time, low experience pilots in a very large industry with a strict seniority ranking system. Many people just don't see incentive to accumulate so much debt, live on a fairly low wage for an extended period of time, and just wait until the expected wage of a pilot increases to a decent salary. More incentives need to be made in order to help pilots want to join the industry. If not, many aviation businesses will be forced to decrease their routes if they do not have pilots to fly them.

The regional airlines have a large concern with the hiring pool. "the heightened training rules imposed in 2013 following the investigation into the Colgan Air crash" (Orr, 2016) Before the Colgan crash, pilots could go from flight schools to a first officer at a regional at 250 hours. After this accident however, pilot's must now have at least 1,500 hours of flight time before going to the airlines. This causes a lot of back up and a lot of time waiting for a large group of pilots to get all of their training done. When pilots get all that training and hours completed, which is a small number, every regional airline now has to pick from the same pool. It is also an issue that pilots are leaving the regionals for the majors much faster than pilots are entering.

There are already some resolutions to the small hiring pool. The FAA allows for certain exceptions to the "1,500 hour" rule. For example, our flight school at Eastern Michigan just approved as a part 141 flight program. This allows for our hour requirement to go from 1,500 to 1,000 hours. This is huge because it will allow for many students to get industry experience much earlier in their career. Airlines are also trying to step up as well. "Endeavor Air, a subsidiary of Delta, currently advertises a first-year salary of $50,000 for first officers." (Orr, 2016) This major raise in pay is huge to pilots who are just entering the industry. This allows more support to pay off student loan payments. You are now able to get a fairly decent wage just a few years after graduating. It will help encourage pilots that student loans aren't so bad. It also will help get a preview of actual aviation wages.

Just as the ALPA represents regional pilots, there are other organizations that represent other parts of the industry as well. For example, the General Aviation Manufacturer Association (GAMA), exists to foster and advance the general welfare, safety, interests, and activities of the global business and general aviation industry." (GAMA, N.D.) There is also a portion that is in charge of management as well called, the GSA. Their purpose is, "to collect, analyze, and report information on the inventory, cost, usage, and safety of Government aircraft" (GSA, N.D.) 

Professionalism, in my own words is expected respect while conducting business, which includes adequate performance of the job being done efficiently and safely.
There were three major events that showed lack of professionalism during the Colgan crash. The first two being breaking sterile cockpit rule and adequate rest rule. Neither of the pilots spent the previous night of the flight in an approved resting facility. Also there was a lot of impertinent conversation leading up to the crash about the first officer’s health and the treatment/wages of the reginal company Colgan. Finally the captain’s response to stick shaker activation should have been automatic, but his improper flight control inputs were not consistent with his training and were instead consistent with startle and confusion. Ultimately he was responsible for the crash.

However, I believe the factors contributing to the captain’s actions are also a partial cause for the crash. This includes the pilot’s very low salary from Colgan. If he had been getting paid a reasonable salary he may have been able to sleep in an approved resting facility the night before the flight. This may have also made him more focused on the flight and less about the low wages and getting to the company paid hotel.

I hope to expand my level of professionalism by developing a network of people in the industry; I am hoping my experience of social skills will make me a memorable person to work with so that may lead to better opportunities. To maintain my professionalism I plan to put all of my focus into just becoming a pilot. Over the last three years of college it has been difficult to focus on flight training while going to school full time and working a part time job but now that I am near the end of my degree I will have more time to focus on being a pilot.

 Travis Sixberry

References

Sasso, M. (2016, July 29). Shrinking Pool of Future Pilots Keeps Major Airlines on Edge. Retrieved January 24^th, 2017, from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-29/shrinking-pool-of-future-pilots-keeps-major-airlines-on-edge

Orr, S. (2016, September 3). Retirements, stiffer training requirements fuel pilot shortage. Retrieved January 24^th, 2017, from http://www.ibj.com/articles/60177-retirements-stiffer-training-requirements-fuel-pilot-shortage

GAMA. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24^th, 2017, from https://www.gama.aero/

Zillman, C. (2014). Why airlines are running out of pilots. Retrieved January 24^th, 2017, from http://fortune.com/2014/03/03/why-airlines-are-running-out-of-pilots

Aviation Management Policy Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24th, 2017, from http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104520