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Reports have long warned that America's airlines were on the verge of a pilot shortage, but today the Wall Street Journal proclaims that it has arrived "sooner and more severely than expected." Regional carriers are canceling flights—on Saturday, for example, Great Lakes Aviation said that "due to the severe industry-wide pilot shortage" it was suspending flights to six small cities that it alone services. That's hurting their bigger partners, who are feeling the pinch themselves; United and Delta are both recalling furloughed pilots.
haha, the worst paying airline in the industry is having a hard time finding pilots with the minimum job requirements are the same at every employer? And most of those employers are hiring? Hmmmmm, should this surprise you...quick answer, no.
I'm pretty certain Great Lakes will cease to exist in a couple years if something doesn't change. They pay their pilots peanuts, they fly old turboprop airplanes low and slow over the mountains, and the planes have no autopilot so you're working your butt off all day long. The carry 19 passengers or less, and have no flight attendant so the First Officer has the added duty of providing the safety briefing at the beginning of every flight....no exotic overnights, or big city overnights really...honestly it's the crappiest of jobs out of some very crappy jobs.
There is no shortage of pilots, or even airline qualified pilots...just a shortage of pilots willing to fly for peanuts. I'd jump back in the cockpit in a heartbeat...but I'm not leaving a $100k job for an unstable career that pays pennies...just won't happen.
Things to also remember.
1. If your health goes bad and you can't hold a medical (diabetes, stroke, heart condition, hearing, eye sight, etc) you're unemployed.
2. If you fail your recurrent testing (held every 6 months) you're out of a job.
3. If you make a mistake you'll be fighting for your job. If no union, you're out of a job.
4. If you bend metal and aren't Sully, you're out of a job and no one will touch you (minus Great Lakes).
So basically, you're job is always on the line, the industry is incredibly shaky, the benefits are nil, the retirements are gone, the pay is terrible and people wonder why you can't find a person wanting to fly your airliner.....I think the people writing the articles are as stupid as the airline managements.
That video is complete garbage. There is a pilot shortage at the worst places to work. Gee I wonder why. Great lakes first year pay is $1,200 per month at $14,400 per year. Second year pay is $1,350 per month at $16,200 per year.
The video makes you want to cry for the struggle of the poor poor airline that pays their professional pilot poverty wages.
having an ATP paid 20k is insulting. I am not sure if this is captain or FO pay ($20k). I guess FO? But still...
The video is reflecting first year FO pay capped out at 1,000 hours of flight time over the course of a year. You could fly up to 100 hours in a month, but come November you would normally have a vacation for the remainder of the year, so most companies tried to keep their employees at the 80 hour's month to avoid massive timeouts.
The nice thing is, if you take a pilots hourly rate ($19, $20, $22) and multiply it by 1,000 you have a general idea of what they'll make in a year. There are some minor differences though, as work rules will allow a person to sometimes credit more pay than hours flown, but only expect an additional 200-300 hours a year on average from that, adding in $3,800-$6,600 in additional salary. Per Diem is also added in sometimes, although it shouldn't be, since the guy bringing his lunch to work doesn't have to eat the Mexican restaurant down the street from the hotel 3 nights a week.
There will never be a shortage at the majors, but yes perhaps it is finally happening at the regionals. But as long as they can continue to pay pathetic wages and draw applicants I'd assert there isn't a true shortage. The regional business model is so broken. It simply cannot sustain as is. The highly paid execs who hammer out these unsustainable contracts with the majors know it's broken, they know it's unsustainable, yet they sign on the dotted line. And then turn around and blame the pilots, saying they are paid too highly and that they must agree to even less pay if they want to keep their jobs. It's a brutal cycle that repeats over and over and over. At least the xjt Pilots finally drew a line said 'enough!'
Perhaps also to do with the recent increase in hours required before performing as PIC?
At least that's the way GL says it is in Cheyenne, which due to cancelled flights here is likely to fall below the minimum number of enplanements each year to continue the subsidy that finances their ops here.
The real increase in flight time requirements are to be SIC and not PIC. They can't hire the 250 hour guys like they did a few years back and now the sky is falling.
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