There is no pilot shortage. There may be a shortage of pilots willing to prostitute themselves for pathetic wages by substandard employers, but that's an employer issue, not a pilot issue.

The article linked at the thread outset opened by talking about Lufthansa pilots threatening a strike over pay. The airline's problem with striking pilots isn't a shortage of pilots, but a shortage of pay. Big difference.

Training costs have gone up. People forget to factor in the costs of stuff like writtens and exam fees. A written test is $150 and examiner fees are $300-400. That's an extra cost of $2,500.

Because of the shortage, there are less CFIs

Are you really using your experience from 25 years ago to make an argument on cost???

There's a shortage of airplane capacity. This can only be solved with bigger airplanes.

Or maybe it's an airline surplus?

That doesn't actually make economic sense.

I am a 16,000 hour airline pilot. The day my phone rings and there is a head hunter on the other end of the line is the day I believe there is a pilot shortage.

The fact that experienced pilots have to pay to attend job fairs to even get noticed would indicate that there is not a pilot shortage.

In Green Bay, which is a low-cost area, a C-172 is almost $150/hour, without an instructor.