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North American Regional Airlines Fear Pilot Shortage

May 5, 2015
Aviation Week & Space Technology

To preview an annual gathering of the North American regional airline community, the Regional Airline Association (RAA) asked top executives at 15 carriers to name the three most pressing issues facing the industry. All but three cited a possible pilot shortage, which remains one of their most vexing problems.

“The continued flow of future aviators—both pilots and mechanics—is a big focus for RAA,” says Kelly Murphy, the group’s spokeswoman. But there likely will not be any panaceas at the RAA’s Convention May 11-14 in Cleveland. By now, regional airlines know how to cope, with many taking a two-pronged approach. One is to be more aggressive in recruiting and paying pilots. The second is to work with legacy carriers to make sure they have reasonable expectations about the schedules the regionals can fly.

Major airlines are also aware of this problem. United Airlines, for example, told analysts in April that it was drawing down its 50-seat fleet in part because its partners were having difficulty staffing the jets. “The reduction in availability of pilots for smaller airplanes is clearly affecting us, as it’s affecting all of our competitors,” United CEO Jeff Smisek said.

On an April 30 earnings call, SkyWest Airlines President Chip Childs said his carrier is “fortunate” to have enough pilots for its 2015 plan. But SkyWest is also shrinking slightly, going from a total fleet of 717 aircraft at the end of 2014, to 693 at the end of the first quarter. By year-end, it will have 633 aircraft.

“It’s not as easy as it has been in the past,” Childs said. “We fundamentally believe that with an issue as big as this pilot shortage you have to be very proactive and plan with the partners so we can make sure we can deliver what the partners want to deliver to their customers.”
SkyWest is generally in good shape —the carrier was named one of “America’s Best Employers” by Forbes earlier in April—but attracting qualified pilots is a problem elsewhere.

Pay remains a major issue, and while it has improved—many carriers offer lucrative signing bonuses—it is not yet high enough across the board to alleviate concerns. Airlines also continue to complain about the FAA’s rules requiring 1,500 flight hours and an Airline Transport Pilot certificate for most new first officers.

In his pre-conference note to the RAA, PSA Airlines President Dion Flannery blames the new rules for resulting “in a multitude of unintended consequences throughout the industry.” He calls on regional carriers to lobby for changes to make it easier for smaller airlines to attract pilots. In his note, Horizon Air President David Campbell states that “other challenges pale in comparison” to the pilot problem.

At the conference, industry leaders will hear from Kent Lovelace, a professor in the University of North Dakota’s Department of Aviation. Lovelace tells Aviation Week the industry is on the right track with pay but says his research suggests prospective first officers are less concerned about compensation than airline executives might expect.

“We did one qualitative study, and all but one of the students said they wanted a salary that is comparable to another college graduate,” Lovelace says. “If a social worker is making $38,000 or a nurse is making $42,000, students want to earn that much. They are not asking for the Moon.”

But Lovelace says some regional carriers may underestimate how much lifestyle factors affect whether a prospective pilot chooses an airline job or a corporate one. He says many ask themselves, “Where will I be based?” before making that decision.

“In my generation, you did whatever you needed to do to get the job you wanted,” Lovelace says. “That attitude doesn’t exist now. They are more concerned about friends and family.”

Regional airline executives can’t always base pilots in desirable places, but Lovelace recommends trying low-risk strategies to improve morale. He credits one airline for giving pilots four free hotel room nights per month at their base, so pilots living elsewhere won’t have to rent a crash pad. Lovelace also suggests regional carriers work with major airlines to set pilot schedules to accommodate work/life balance. “There’s no short-term fix,” he says.

Some carriers are already moving in that direction. When Republic Airways told pilots in April that Delta Air Lines had extended a contract for 38 Embraer ERJ 145s until 2021, five years beyond what was initially planned, Republic promised pilots their work days would improve. In the note, executives underscored that Republic wants to be an “industry leader” in quality of life.

Other approaches work, too. Young pilots look for favorable flow-through agreements that improve their chances of working at a major carrier. Pilots also appreciate bonuses—Endeavor Air offers up to $80,000 in retention bonuses for a long-term commitment—as well as financial support for their loans.

Formal programs are another option. The most effective one, Lovelace says, is JetBlue’s agreement with Cape Air called the University Gateway program. Students at six preferred universities (including North Dakota) start as college interns at Cape Air or JetBlue, then fly for at least one year as flight instructors before joining Cape Air for 2-3 years. Afterward, pilots are given preferred interview slots with JetBlue.

Cape Air President Linda Markham says 20 program graduates have moved on to JetBlue. More than 100 more are in the pipeline. “It helps to have the carrot at the end of the stick,” Lovelace says.

U.S. Regional Airlines Struggle To Attract Pilots | Commercial Aviation content from Aviation Week

 

Sir, with all due respect you should ask those Fo's how many months they had there commercial multi before they were hired by Eagle, how many sign offs they had or how many hours total time. I am guessing 6 months, 1+, and 500 hours or less.
Also, while PSA did inhibit Eagle's position they must realize that PSA didn't inhibit Pinnacle, or ExpressJet, upgrade times which are similar to Eagles and likely places they would have gone if not the first one to hire them.

 

Id like to focus in on this for just a second. Where did this info come from and do you feel it was credible? Im not far from shelling out the 5 grand to take this course and I would really want to work for PSA. If this is anywhere close to being a reality, id like to figure out a timeframe and come up with a game plan.

 

I really don't know how true it is or how far off it may be. I hope it does come soon, or at least they start giving money to cover it. The applicants that have completed the test must be drying up.

Call recruiting and ask. It can't hurt.


Here is the current list:
http://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/a..._providers.pdf

 

Thanks! Very interesting that they have Charlotte on there. Does AWAC have any other ties to Charlotte? If not, im trying to figure a reason they would list Charlotte also.

 

They use the US Airways/American training facility in CLT, along with PSA. I really don't know the extent that they use it, but I have seen their name on a briefing room door. I was under the impression that there is not a CRJ200 sim in CLT anymore, and it has been converted to a 700, but I don't know if that is true.

 

There are 3 CRJ sims in CLT. One -200 that only AWAC uses and the two that only PSA uses.

 

There you go. I didn't realize that they had that many CRJ sims there. Thanks.

 

One of the requirements of the CTP is a certain amount of time in a FTD and/or sim, surely if Whiskey uses a Sim in CLT it would have to be approved for the CTP. Or am I missing something?