The problem with this is that none of those jobs are subject to the RLA. Fix/Repeal the RLA and we'll see some changes.


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That isn't typically how loan guarantees work. The government will back loans for all kinds of vocations but not flight training. Heck, even the VA won't adeq pay for flight training outside of a college curriculum. If the government was serious about fixing the problem, they would back vocational loans like student loans, not some BS 7% over 30 years Sallie Mae loan.

By the way, many regionals have started paying for some ratings like CFI and most pay for an ATP saving people thousands. It's not like the companies aren't doing ANYTHING.

 

So you'd rather just have the company be allowed to dictate a contract after negotiations stall without conferring with anyone? Ready? 30% pay cut for Captains and 100% raise for first officers. Your move.

 

The flip side to that is immediate self-help.

 

Yes, while it would be nice to strike under dire conditions, the public already has a very low opinion of labor unions and if you ruin their once a year vacation, they will be even more eager to vote in any measure that castrates the "spoiled unions.". Especially because people think all pilots make $300k a year. You could tell them the pay is abysmal and they would say, I don't care. The average is $200k. Deal with it. I make $40k

 

Apparently in 2011 there were FOs picking up double time, clearing 80k. But you're right it's rare for FOs to get paid appropriately on the regional level. It's not fully the regional airlines fault though. The mainline partners should be the ones paying, they decided to contract out flying to save a buck, but they'll pay the price now. Over time it would have been cheaper for them to not outsource jets, but they're learning the hard way.

 

Not exactly. There are certain high yield markets that an ERJ/CR2 can go that not even a CR7/170 fits into ramp space/taxi way wise. Not many, but they are out there.

Unless the city/airport folks want to invest, it'll ALWYS be that way.

Mostly, but but some of the mainline MEC's can too.

 

Exactly. The last thing we need is more money from Uncle Sugar flowing into an already artificially cost inflated "big-Ed" scam. Not to mention the entire industry sat idly by as so much of the flight instruction infrastructure crumbled in front of them, but as Jerry Seinfeld says, that's "tomorrow guy's problem!" Now all that's left are ridiculous all glass quarter million dollar "trainers" embedded within ridiculous 6 figure degrees in nothing, for a sizable additional cost, of course.

Now they want John Q Taxpayer to bail them out of it, right in the middle of them being so flush with cash they literally don't know what to spend it on and are incinerating billions per year in historically comedic buybacks and the like.

Our government should smack down the dual subsidized ME3, BoB and FoC scab model of NAI and their ilk, but the "shortage" nonsense is something that 100% will be addressed by the market.

This "crisis" (if it ever even manifests to that level, which is debatable anyway) will take many years to get to that point. In the meantime, what are they actually doing about it? Nothing, except band aid money throwing at the regionals for a quick fix and begging for MPL scams and probably soon cabotage, which won't solve it for them either.

Yet B-schol bonuses keep flowing for the "executive talent" even as they refuse to navigate the icebergs because they're busy galavanting around the Captain's Table in the Stateroom.

 

They want aspiring pilots to pay out of their pocket, and the taxpayer's pocket, for the problems that their greedy management policies have created. Instead, they should raise the wages or pay for MORE of the training, then they won't have a problem finding qualified employees. They certainly aren't in a bad enough position to be begging the government for bail out money so that they can have an easier time finding employees. That is not the government's problem.

Major airlines are raking in billions of dollars in profits right now. So why should the taxpayer worry about paying money for airline employees to get trained?? I say let supply and demand run its course.

 

That wouldn't work either. If everyone was handed out a 1% loan flight schools would just charge more for the same instruction.

Maybe something like that after you pay for your own PPL, the player has to have some skin in the game.