Originally Posted by
BoilerUP
Shortage does not equal scarcity.
Correct. To quote the google machine:
"The easiest way to distinguish between the two is that
scarcity is a naturally occurring limitation on the resource that cannot be replenished. A
shortage is a market condition of a particular good at a particular price."
Businesses, let alone airlines in particular, do not throw out raises and bonuses out of the goodness of their hearts. There have not been enough pilots lately willing to work at the recent historical labor price point, thus the regionals shelling out beaucoup bucks to attract labor.
If there are not enough of a particular good [pilots] willing to seek employment in the airline business at a particular price [wage], then there is a shortage. You can have an economic shortage of a good while simultaneously having significant quantities of said good. Unlike natural resources pulled from the ground, pilots will grow a plenty if you fertilize them with the stinky green cabbage.