Originally Posted by
MrSkywest
The term "shortage" is a political term, not an economic term. In a free market when the demand rises the compensation should rise until the supply meets the demand. The airlines have been holding down the pay and talking "shortage" when the problem is lack of pay. I have a lot of experienced friends who are not going to work for 35k a year. Along with commute or other costs it is not worth it for a lot of guys who don't have 30 years left to fly. Show me the money and there will be a lot of pilots who will come fly.
That's a very narrow, limited, and inaccurate view.
Of course pay hurts, but excess regulations hurt too. The 1500 hour rule is killing the regionals. Also, the fact that a college degree + flight training is close to $200k is keeping a lot of people from pursuing this direction.
So it's not just the pay, there are multiple factors. Even if the pay increases drastically (which it is), there will still be a shortage for the forseeable future.