Airlines Lower Bar To Fill Pilot Ranks

[question everything]

The Wall Street Journal

THE MIDDLE SEAT
By SCOTT MCCARTNEY

Airlines Lower Bar To Fill Pilot Ranks
Worsening Shortages Force Some Small Carriers to Hire
Younger, Less-Experienced Fliers; Raising the Retirement Age
December 18, 2007; Page D1

A world-wide shortage of pilots is putting less-experienced fliers at the controls of passenger jets and even forcing some airlines to cancel flights for a lack of crews. In the U.S., the pilot squeeze is being felt mostly at regional airlines -- carriers that feed passengers to bigger airlines using planes with fewer than 100 seats. Most regional airlines have lowered their experience-level requirements for new hires, and some have struggled to find pilots with enough hours in their logbooks to serve as captains. Pilots still have to pass tests at each airline and meet proficiency standards, but some aviation experts are concerned that that less-experienced pilots may not perform as well in emergencies or may be more prone to mistakes.

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The pilot shortage is the result of a combination of factors. Fast-growing foreign airlines and cargo carriers have sucked up pilots. Growth in the U.S. at discount airlines and private-jet companies has also led to surging demand for personnel. Newer carriers and fractional-jet companies have been hiring hundreds of pilots furloughed by major carriers, plus pilots who built some experience at lower-paying regional airlines. In the past year or two, major carriers have been recalling furloughed pilots as well, creating rapid turnover at regional airlines. At the same time, the U.S. military -- a major supplier of commercial airline staff -- has been turning out fewer pilots.

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The pilot shortage was a contributing factor in some flight cancellations this year, American Eagle says. To open its door to more candidates, Eagle lowered its minimum for experience this year to 600 hours total flying time from 800 hours, and will "look" at some candidates in the 500-hour range, Eagle spokeswoman Andrea Huguely said. "We do need more pilots," she said.

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Major airlines can still require several thousand cockpit hours of experience before taking the controls of Boeing and Airbus jets, and haven't had a shortage of applicants. But Mr. Darby thinks regional airlines will be forced to drop as low as FAA licensing minimums -- 250 hours to get a commercial license necessary to serve as a co-pilot -- and bigger airlines will ultimately feel the pinch. Concerned about the pilot shortage, Congress passed legislation last week raising the mandatory retirement age for U.S. commercial airline pilots to 65 from 60, and President Bush signed the law on Friday. That should at least temporarily slow the number of pilots that big airlines hire away from smaller carriers, but Mr. Darby says the change won't end the shortage. He estimates a net gain of about 1,500 pilots in the first year the retirement age is raised, while some 13,000 pilots were hired this year. Ultimately the U.S. may have to adopt new, quicker training models for pilots, Mr. Darby says, and airlines may have to start paying for early schooling for pilots and raise starting salaries for pilots, currently as low as $24,000 a year.

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Studies have been inconclusive on whether there's a link between accidents and experience for airline pilots. Several studies have found a U-shaped curve: Accident rates tend to be higher for less-experienced pilots, and for older pilots as well. Older pilots, the thinking goes, may have become complacent.

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URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119793945130135545.html (subscription)

[Up2Late]

1. Typical Wall Street Journal blame the X crap...

"...Ultimately the U.S. may have to adopt new, quicker training models for pilots, Mr. Darby says, and airlines may have to start paying for early schooling for pilots and raise starting salaries for pilots, currently as low as $24,000 a year...?"

Yeah, they wish! It was reported on the Public Radio show "Marketplace" a few years ago that the pilots that are flying you to the big Airports on the Regional Jets and prop planes with 9 to 60+ passengers and crew, who are under at least as much pressure (if not more) as the pilots of the "big Jets" are making (after taking out the cost of the uniforms and the cost of their training, which they pay for) between $12,000 to $24,000 Dollars per year!

And most of those smaller planes and jets don't practically land themselves like the big jets do, those guys, most of whom have to work a second job or extremely long hours (if they can get them) are doing it on too little sleep and ya know what, you're just as dead if a pilot making $60,000 to $200,000 Dollars crashes the Jet you're in as when a guy making $12,000 to $24,000 crashes the plane. Something to think about the next time you fly on one of the feeder jets.