Originally Posted by
AirWillie
And it will continue to stay that way until the FAA, management and the rest of them realize that this is not a hobby.
Well that or when people stop signing up. I think most of us signed up for this gig with the assumption that we'd be able to make a living flying. I think the word is out now and that's at least one reason why flight schools are so empty versus the last aviation recession (post-9/11).
What we have to do now is to make sure that when things do improve they can't just get some high school flunkies to take a 6 month course and come in and take the low wages. That's where the ATP thing comes in. If you want to fly and airliner, you need to be a professional and the time and effort required to obtain an ATP should help in that matter. If the FAA has other ideas as far as changing training or certification standards then that's even better. The nice thing about the ATP rule is it's nice and easy to legislate and still goes a long way for our cause.
If all goes well Age 65 will run it's course and the demand for pilots will resume. However, this time hopefully the airlines will have to work like every other company hiring professionals and have to pay to compete for the qualified pilot. Not as it has been for the last 10 years or so and have pilots compete for the scarce jobs out there.