Albief15

It is not as dumb as you think...

Part of the reason pilots are doing so well in contracts now is the pilot shortage has decimated regionals. This move by Goldfein would make the regionals able to hire less experienced and less expensive pilots. This labor shortfall could be significantly reduced by producing more regional pilots sooner, which is his goal in reducing the flight time required for these jobs.

If regionals could again hire guys at 250 hours with a commercial, they could fill a lot more right seats...quickly. Until the ATP requirement, young pilots could get a loan for their training and build time for only a short while before being scooped up. There were plenty of pilots in the mid 2000s that would take out a 100k loan to get to that hour mark.

Two things stopped that. First--the requirement to have an ATP and 1500 hours. Second, the financial crisis drove a lot of folks out of the loan making business, which funded the "puppy mill" flight schools across Florida and the sunbelt. Many of those schools and programs shrunk or disappeared.

750 hours isn't at easy at 250 and a commercial to acquire, but it is half of what they need now. It is a big cut.

If the regionals can start stacking their right seats again, here's some potential ramifications...

1. The bonuses/wage increases we've seen in the regionals might ebb or disappear. The financial barrier for a new pilot to gain 750 hours, while not insignificant, is reduced. So is the time it takes (by 6-18 months) to get those hours as a CFI in those same schools. Those helo transition courses might fade as well...
2. Regionals being better manned will allow some code-share and out-sourced flying to go back downhill to the regionals from mainline. Part of the reason Delta is interested in 100 seaters and bought the 717s from SWA was the lack of reliability and shrinking cost advantage of regional feeders. More pilots to fly those 50/70/90 seaters for less money puts downward pressure on mainline pay and benefits.
3. Once regionals can successfully fill their own schedules, they will again be whipsawed to lower their costs or face losing routes to their regional competitors. The downward pressure on wages when that occurs has already been demonstrated many times since 2002.

While it is a tragic story, the fact is one poor regional pilot with a bad training record probably did more to enhance our profession than years of dedicated work and effort by many ALPA volunteers. The Colgan crash put pilot experience and competency into the discussion in the media and in Congress, and also flight time and duty time issues. Subsequent legislation meant to enhance safety like the Part 117 regulations and the 2013 ATP changes not only helped enhance safety, but also gave pilot groups more leverage than they have had in years by shrinking the pool of available labor. What Goldfein hopes to do--as do the RAA and a host of others--is lower the requirements to increase that pool size. In the process, he will take pressure off his manning crisis by not only increasing the of non-military pilots available for airlines, but by potentially reducing our future pay as well. He doesn't just want to keep his pilots--he wants to make the airlines an overall less attractive option.

The hero in these stories? The Colgan families. They have never let up in their fight to highlight the issues that affect airline safety. They are on the Hill--even now--quietly walking the office halls wearing their red jackets and adored with a simple button that usually has a picture of the loved one they lost. They are going to need to keep the fight going, along with the help of ALPA and others, if the 1500 hour requirement is to be preserved.

https://www.faa.gov/news/press_relea...m?newsId=14838

Congress tightens requirements for airline pilots - latimes

Hacker15e

This is the kind of thing abusive husbands do to battered wives to keep them from leaving terrible relationships.

Definitely military problem-solving and leadership at its finest.

PurpleToolBox

^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^

BINGO!!! SHACK!! SPOT ON!!

I went to the Families of Continental 3407 website and have emailed them the intentions of the CSAF so this BS can be stopped. Everyone should. The safety of the flying public should not be reduced to bail the USAF out of a manning and leadership problem.

More so, I still believe we need a national flight academy for air transport pilots, separate from our military academies, similar to the Merchant Marine Academy.

We all would be fools to let the 1500 rule be changed or removed.

Hacker15e

That's a solid idea that I'd never considered before. +1

Grumble

Bold part, that's the highlight of the issue. It's not a manning problem, guys don't want to quit flying grey aircraft, but more so they don't want to keep working for horrible leadership.

Underlined, we have several, they're called ERAU/UND/etc. A national academy (are you proposing tax payer funded?) I think is a horrible idea. There's nothing standing between folks starting training and accruing hours. 1500 is not even close to an insurmountable obstacle, guys I went to college with graduated with twice that. There was a time not too long ago when one needed 3000tt/500me just to be looked at by the regionals.

No one wants to climb the mountain anymore, they all want to be dropped off at the top.

HuggyU2

Like Hacker, I've never heard of this idea before. Very innovative! It's obviously not that simple... but innovative ideas seldom are.

BangkokSteve

coming out of lurking after over a year to make this post...impressed by the thoughts about a national academy. I am AF, but did a tour at Whiting teaching T-34s and taught a few Merchant Marines who joined the Navy. Was always intrigued, but never made the connection to a potential air connection. This is such a good idea I already inquired with a few of my friends who work on the Hill if such an idea has been floated in the past. I'll let you know if they have ever considered it.

I think a year ago this would have been a laughable idea...but we are nearing crisis mode. It's been said before, but, "never waste a good crisis."

PurpleToolBox

Find a senator or representative who is a pilot and float the idea to him or her. We can name it after them. This could be their legacy.

BeatNavy

Government funded and run vocational school...who would pay for it, taxpayers? With what money? This is how we'd get user fees. Death to GA. And only those who fly in the military or at USAPA (US Airline Pilot Academy) could ever really fly for the airlines, as it would likely be too cost prohibitive to learn to fly as a weekend warrior if that happened. That's how I see it playing out, though it is an interesting idea. There are so many flying jobs outside of airlines that I see going unfilled in that scenario...the small single/twin cargo and true commuter flights in a 402 or the like, sky divers, corporate, fractional, ag, banner towing. Who would do these jobs? Is a new pipeline created where USAPA feeds all these jobs? Or do they feed just the airlines? How many pilots a year does the US need for the next 20...I have no idea. But to fill all the pure airline jobs I'd guess 3-5k a year minimum, probably more. Probably well over 10k a year for a while for all aviation jobs. Are all those produced by USAPA and maybe some from the military? Does USAPA crank out 3-5k or more grads a year at a cost of probably no less than $300k a pop (probably more by the time government gets involved and has a setup similar to UPT that is an adequate airline ab initio training program) I see something like that costing taxpayers at least a billion a year...probably a lot more. Aviation universities, or univiersities with aviation departments would go bye bye. Don't see how any 141 or 61 flight school or plane rental company could stay afloat. Anyway, just thinking out loud about the secondary and tertiary effects and ramifications of such a drastic change to the pilot mill. May not all be good.

C-17 Driver

Another government program is not a solution I would approve of.