Originally Posted by
Sr. Barco
Airline Pilot Central - Regional
Using the above link I found there are 9,905 regional airline pilots in the U.S. The major airlines listed below could hire every one of them in the next 8 years and still be short 2,239 pilots. They still need another approximately 11,500 pilots over the 5 years after that.
With regard to military pilots If fly with F/O's every week who are currently in guard units or reserve squadrons or were active duty within the past few years. They tell me the majority of their military buds do not trust the airlines and are staying in the military. Minimum commitment is 10 years after flight training. Pay is way up in the military and I've heard of retention bonuses of $100,000.
Unless the current rules change the majors could hire every single regional airline pilot in the U.S. over the next 8 years and then hire 13,700 retiring military pilots over the 5 years after that and just be breaking even.
What am I missing?
*Large regional airlines (like Skywest, American Eagle, ASA/Expressjet, and Republic) actually qualify as national airlines, and are not included in the APC regional airline list. They have an additional 12,500+ pilots between them.
*Pilots currently flying in other segments of industry (corporate, charter, fractional, cargo, etc.)
*Pilots currently employed in other industries (ie. not currently flying)
*Military pilots will start 'trusting the airlines' when they see mass hiring, vs. the last decade which consisted largely of furloughs & stagnation. Wars winding down and budget cuts leading to a reduction in voluntary deployments & man-days, if not headcount, changing perspectives
*Industry consolidation & economic issues reducing need for pilots