Originally Posted by
BeechPilot33
I don't think legacy carriers will have a shortage. And an extra two years really won't do anything. Only a small percentage of guys would work past 65 anyway. Regionals will have to continue to add pay and benefits to attract pilots in the next 5 yrs.
1500 hour rule is viewed as a safety thing and was made after Colgan so good luck getting that reversed. 1500 rule has helped to increase pay, it's a good thing.
I'm not saying there's a shortage at the majors, or that there will ever be a true shortage. However, 50% of legacy flights are on regionals, and the shortage is definitely hitting there. The majority of the flying public doesn't really understand what it means to be flying American Eagle vs AA, or United Express vs United. When flights start to really cancel due to lack of crew and routes from small- medium airports go away, that's when the American public and media will push Congress to do something. Age 67 is an easy, but very temporary fix. There would be enough geezers staying at the legacies, that between military hires and the lull in retirements, the majors would not have hire very many regional pilots. It would give them two years where regional pilots would be stuck in place, thus protecting their feed for a while.