Originally Posted by
Electra
The problem here is that everyone foaming at the mouth about pilot shortages actually believes the fairy tale that we live in a free market economy and that the supply/demand price curve from Econ 101... works anymore...
This is true. The airlines have accpeted a rigid price point on the supply line and they simply do not have the option of going to a higher one with a larger labor supply.
... The entire paradigm is probably going to have to shift, again, just don't hold your breath waiting for that raise.
Right. It
will shift because it is not in keeping with classical economic theory. The regional airline business model exploited the abundant supply of cheap pilot labor in this country to make money, a supply which is quickly drying up because of the failure of the industry to provide upward mobility to its pilot employees. Other factors such as increased training costs has also entered the equation, but many industries employ professionals carrying high educational burdens with them to the job and that is not the real problem. What will it take to shake the price point free is anyone's guess, but it will happen.