This article Cliff quotes is not authoritative. It is based on Roger Cohen's opinion, and he is a motivated speaker at best, a paid representative of the Regional Airline Association. I urge anyone interested in the truth about the alleged pilot shortage to disregard his words entirely. Here's the article Cliff quoted, since he did not provide it in his post:
FlightGlobal article
If instead you want to hear an
unmotivated opinion on the pilot staffing question, try the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, who says there will be a minor
decline in the number of jobs for airline pilot jobs until the end of the decade (or 2022). Far from a shortage, there will actually be a surplus of pilots to some small degree. I am convinced this whole thing about a pilot shortage is cooked up by the aircraft industry to sell more airplanes, and the airlines to drive up pilot supply and drive down pilot wages (or keep them low).
OOC Airline Pilots and Commercial Pilots
