Airline Management Admits to PILOT SHORTAGE: Republic, SkyWest
04-19-2007, 08:51 AM
#1
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Apr 2006
Posts: 657
Airline Management Admits to PILOT SHORTAGE: Republic, SkyWest
More local flights are being canceled
Pilot shortage, weather to blame
Pilot shortage, weather to blame
By Alex Davis
[email protected]
The Courier-Journal
A growing number of flights from Louisville International Airport are being canceled, partly due to a national shortage of pilots.
Almost 3 percent of all departing flights have been canceled so far this year, the highest rate since the same period in 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
One regional carrier, Republic Airways, has canceled at least 22 flights out of Louisville since last November because it hasn't had enough pilots or flight attendants. Warren Wilkinson, a spokesman for Republic, said some major carriers are hiring pilots for the first time in years, making it tougher to recruit.
"We're adjusting our hiring and training programs to keep pace with the higher demand," Wilkinson said in an interview. "We believe we'll get ahead of it in the next few months."
Republic operates flights from Louisville for Delta, Continental and United among other companies. Of the carrier's 2,297 local departures since November, a total of 80 flights -- 3.5 percent -- were canceled. Weather was the main culprit, but Wilkinson said there were almost no cancellations due to staffing before the start of this year.
Rande Swann, a spokeswoman for the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, said the agency doesn't have much control over delays and cancellations, and its best option is to recruit more carriers to the airport. That boosts the number of available seats, which in turn gives passengers more options if they are bumped.
The pilot shortage has become more of a problem over the past year or two as air traffic has recovered from the slump after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said Roger Cohen, president of the Regional Airline Association, which represents carriers that fly smaller aircraft.
Federal statistics show the number of canceled departures from Louisville varies widely. Since the start of this year, American Eagle has canceled 4.9 percent of its departures from Louisville, and SkyWest has canceled 12.6 percent. Southwest Airlines, meanwhile, reported just 13 cancellations, or 1.2 percent of its 1,053 flights overall.
A series of winter storms that struck the Denver area was a major factor behind the cancellations at SkyWest, said Sabrena Suite-Mangum, a spokeswoman for the Utah-based carrier. She said the company has canceled flights due to staffing issues, but specific numbers for Louisville weren't available yesterday.
Mark Giuffre, a spokesman for Louisville-based UPS Airlines, said the company does not have a staffing problem and cited the pilots' pay as a reason. About one-third of the 2,800 pilots flying for UPS are based in Louisville.
Indianapolis-based Republic Airways has a staff of 289 pilots, flight attendants and mechanics in Louisville. The company is planning a local recruiting event next month.
Kit Darby, president of Air Inc., an Atlanta-based career service for airline pilots, said union contracts can make it difficult for airlines to change salaries. He said some carriers are taking pilots with less flying experience.
Reporter Alex Davis can be reached at (502) 582-4644.
04-19-2007, 09:07 AM
#2
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Apr 2006
Posts: 657
I have to agree with CACTUSCREW who had posted this in another thread . . .
I actually took the time to call the writer (Alex) and talked to him about this story. Their sister paper (The Indianapolis Star) is looking into doing a story on this shortage of HI TIME pilots willing to work for LOW PAY, and the ramifications this might have with the airline industry.
And if you don't believe that there are no pilots willing to work for the regionals, just go to an AIR,Inc. function. Pilots are lined up for the majors, cargo, etc . . . At the regionals, no one wants to talk to them. At the regionals, everyone is bailing OR moving laterally. MESA CA's going on to become SKYW FO's.
I actually took the time to call the writer (Alex) and talked to him about this story. Their sister paper (The Indianapolis Star) is looking into doing a story on this shortage of HI TIME pilots willing to work for LOW PAY, and the ramifications this might have with the airline industry.
And if you don't believe that there are no pilots willing to work for the regionals, just go to an AIR,Inc. function. Pilots are lined up for the majors, cargo, etc . . . At the regionals, no one wants to talk to them. At the regionals, everyone is bailing OR moving laterally. MESA CA's going on to become SKYW FO's.
04-19-2007, 09:17 AM
#3
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2006
Position: ERJ FO
Posts: 1,276
It wouldn't be the first time the Indy Star did that. I tried to link two other articles but they've already been taken down off the newspapers website. One was titled "Runway not paved with gold for most pilots" and the other asked the very appropriate question "What would Jesus Pay?" I for one am a huge fan of the ol' Indy Star.
04-19-2007, 09:24 AM
#4
Banned
Joined APC: Jan 2006
Position: A-320
Posts: 6,929
Originally Posted by Ellen
I have to agree with CACTUSCREW who had posted this in another thread . . .
I actually took the time to call the writer (Alex) and talked to him about this story. Their sister paper (The Indianapolis Star) is looking into doing a story on this shortage of HI TIME pilots willing to work for LOW PAY, and the ramifications this might have with the airline industry.
And if you don't believe that there are no pilots willing to work for the regionals, just go to an AIR,Inc. function. Pilots are lined up for the majors, cargo, etc . . . At the regionals, no one wants to talk to them. At the regionals, everyone is bailing OR moving laterally. MESA CA's going on to become SKYW FO's.
I actually took the time to call the writer (Alex) and talked to him about this story. Their sister paper (The Indianapolis Star) is looking into doing a story on this shortage of HI TIME pilots willing to work for LOW PAY, and the ramifications this might have with the airline industry.
And if you don't believe that there are no pilots willing to work for the regionals, just go to an AIR,Inc. function. Pilots are lined up for the majors, cargo, etc . . . At the regionals, no one wants to talk to them. At the regionals, everyone is bailing OR moving laterally. MESA CA's going on to become SKYW FO's.
04-19-2007, 10:15 AM
#5
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Apr 2006
Posts: 657
Crisis Is A Brewing
Regional carriers fuel much of the market;
some worry that companies may lower standards
By Paul Beebe
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 02/07/2007 12:50:58 PM MST
Fresh on the heels of hiring 610 pilots last year, SkyWest Airlines intends to hire another 700 this year to keep even with the regional carrier's snowballing growth.
It will be a daunting task. Regionals are flourishing as they pick up less-profitable and shorter routes that national carriers no longer want to fly. The consequence is a shortage of commercial pilots, which some in the industry predict could reach a crisis level and others say has compelled some airlines to lower their hiring standards closer to government minimums in order to fill seats in their cockpits.
"We are looking nationwide. We have a full-court press throughout the system," said Necia Clark-Mantle, vice president of people for St. George-based SkyWest. "The market in general is pretty difficult."
SkyWest executives say the airline has not lowered its hiring benchmarks. Its applicants need 1,000 hours of flying time, including 100 hours piloting multi-engine airplanes in order to get a job interview, and its typical candidate has 1,800 hours of experience. The Federal Aviation Administration requires 250 hours of flight time for a commercial license.
"Anything above and beyond what is stated [in FAA rules] is a business decision on the part of the airline," FAA spokesman Les Dorr said.
Because SkyWest is unwilling to relax its requirements, it must work harder than some airlines to hire qualified pilots.
Great Lakes Airlines demands 750 hours and is not feeling a shortage of acceptable candidates, said Monica Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Cheyenne, Wyo.-based regional carrier.
American Eagle, which is hiring 30 to 60 pilots a month, accepts as few as 400 hours if applicants complete pilot training at approved flight schools, spokesman Dave Jackson said. American Eagle is a subsidiary of AMR Corp., which also owns American Airlines.
SkyWest has posted help-wanted notices on its Web site, and it will conduct pilot career fairs in Salt Lake City and seven other cities this month. The airline wants to talk to pilots who fly for other regionals or who have been furloughed by bigger carriers. And it's combing through university aviation programs, looking for acceptable candidates.
There might be no time like the present to become a pilot for hire. Airlines hired about 8,500 aviators last year, and the pace should continue at that level or higher for the next 10 years, according to AIR Inc., which tracks pilot hiring. Aerospace giant Boeing Co. estimates the global appetite for new pilots at 17,000 a year through 2024. (Where are they going to come from?)
"All I can say is it's the best time to get into the industry," said Mike Kraus, program director for the aviation studies program at Westminster College, which graduates about 110 commercial pilots a year, ready for the job market. "When you are born sometimes controls your destiny and opportunities."
The remarkable turnaround of the airline industry - whose fortunes ebbed after 9/11 - is behind much of the demand for pilots, said Kip Darby, president of Atlanta-based AIR. Much of the industry is returning to profitability after wresting huge pay and benefits concessions from employees, shedding expensive retirement programs and shifting more flying to contract carriers such as SkyWest. Rising fares and falling jet fuel prices are helping, too.
At the same time, the military - traditionally one of the best sources of commercial pilots - is retaining more of its aviators. And many pilots who leave the military are choosing other careers, underlining the instability in the airline industry that has pushed many carriers to extract big pay and benefit cuts from their employees.
"The next big crisis is a lack of qualified crews," said Ed Thiel, a Delta Air Lines captain and member of the executive council of the Delta unit of the Air Line Pilots Association. "The airlines are having difficulty finding qualified applicants. There are not as many people coming out of the military route, and it's almost prohibitively expensive to go through the civilian route, while the career has degraded to the point where it doesn't make sense to go into the business."
Aspiring pilots who enroll in aeronautical colleges can expect big tuition bills. An undergraduate degree at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida costs almost $100,000. Thiel said nonacademic routes to a job at a major airline can be as expensive and take 10 years to complete.
All the same, a job isn't hard to find after a pilot earns a commercial license.
Two years ago, Frank Ayers, chairman of Embry-Riddle's flight department, was able to keep graduates on as flight instructors for a couple of years before they landed a job flying for a regional airline or other employer.
"I'm lucky now if I keep someone six months," Ayers said. "Don't get me wrong; it's a good problem to have. Despite all the bankruptcies, it appears that the increased demand for air travel is solid. Airlines have finished downsizing and have figured out how to fly profitably."
Analysts are betting that most airlines will report strong earnings in 2007. Ray Neidl of Calyon Securities thinks that American Airlines could earn earn $4.06 per share, or about $889 million, with United Airlines earning $4.80, or abut $531 million. SkyWest is expected to be the most profitable regional carrier, earning $2.71 a share, or close to $173 million, this year.
"There is a relationship between airline profits and hiring," AIR's Darby said. He believes that some airlines will earn as much as $1 billion a year as their profitability builds during the rest of the decade. "If that relationship holds true, we will see a lot of hiring."
The pilot hiring that SkyWest is undertaking is part of a broader plan to expand its 10,000-employee work force by up to 4,000 workers this year. In part, turnover is pushing the airline to accelerate pilot hiring. Regionals historically have been where young pilots assemble enough flying experience to move to bigger airlines.
About 10 percent of SkyWest's pilots leave the company each year. Some pack it in when they reach age 60. (Last week, the FAA said it would propose raising the compulsory retirement age to 65.) Others leave for jobs at other airlines, said Camille Ence, manager of pilot recruitment.
Most pilots who leave hope to hire on at national airlines and air cargo companies, which pay more and give better benefits, Darby said. FedEx pays an Airbus A380 captain with 10 years of experience $17,464 a month, according to WillFlyForFood.cc, a Web site that compares pilot pay. An American Airlines captain flying a Boeing 767 earns $11,008 a month. SkyWest jet captains with a decade of experience earn about $3,000 a month. First officers are paid $1,425 a month, according to WillFlyForFood.
Although some bankrupt carriers have turned their retirement programs over to the government Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp., most retirement packages at the bigger airlines are still defined-benefit programs instead of 401(k) programs. Bigger airlines also provide more rest time between flights, Darby said.
The key reason why SkyWest must hire hundreds of new pilots this year is its growing alliance with Delta. In November, Delta selected SkyWest Inc. to take over some of the regional flying business operated by its Comair subsidiary. This month, Delta will shift the flying of 12 Canadair regional jets to SkyWest, The company also is waiting to hear whether Delta will award it another 131 Comair jets. Each aircraft needs a rotation of nine pilots.
Delta also granted eight of the 70-seat jets to SkyWest when it bought Atlantic Southeast Airlines in September 2005. Those aircraft are scheduled to be delivered between now and May.
some worry that companies may lower standards
By Paul Beebe
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 02/07/2007 12:50:58 PM MST
Fresh on the heels of hiring 610 pilots last year, SkyWest Airlines intends to hire another 700 this year to keep even with the regional carrier's snowballing growth.
It will be a daunting task. Regionals are flourishing as they pick up less-profitable and shorter routes that national carriers no longer want to fly. The consequence is a shortage of commercial pilots, which some in the industry predict could reach a crisis level and others say has compelled some airlines to lower their hiring standards closer to government minimums in order to fill seats in their cockpits.
"We are looking nationwide. We have a full-court press throughout the system," said Necia Clark-Mantle, vice president of people for St. George-based SkyWest. "The market in general is pretty difficult."
SkyWest executives say the airline has not lowered its hiring benchmarks. Its applicants need 1,000 hours of flying time, including 100 hours piloting multi-engine airplanes in order to get a job interview, and its typical candidate has 1,800 hours of experience. The Federal Aviation Administration requires 250 hours of flight time for a commercial license.
"Anything above and beyond what is stated [in FAA rules] is a business decision on the part of the airline," FAA spokesman Les Dorr said.
Because SkyWest is unwilling to relax its requirements, it must work harder than some airlines to hire qualified pilots.
Great Lakes Airlines demands 750 hours and is not feeling a shortage of acceptable candidates, said Monica Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Cheyenne, Wyo.-based regional carrier.
American Eagle, which is hiring 30 to 60 pilots a month, accepts as few as 400 hours if applicants complete pilot training at approved flight schools, spokesman Dave Jackson said. American Eagle is a subsidiary of AMR Corp., which also owns American Airlines.
SkyWest has posted help-wanted notices on its Web site, and it will conduct pilot career fairs in Salt Lake City and seven other cities this month. The airline wants to talk to pilots who fly for other regionals or who have been furloughed by bigger carriers. And it's combing through university aviation programs, looking for acceptable candidates.
There might be no time like the present to become a pilot for hire. Airlines hired about 8,500 aviators last year, and the pace should continue at that level or higher for the next 10 years, according to AIR Inc., which tracks pilot hiring. Aerospace giant Boeing Co. estimates the global appetite for new pilots at 17,000 a year through 2024. (Where are they going to come from?)
"All I can say is it's the best time to get into the industry," said Mike Kraus, program director for the aviation studies program at Westminster College, which graduates about 110 commercial pilots a year, ready for the job market. "When you are born sometimes controls your destiny and opportunities."
The remarkable turnaround of the airline industry - whose fortunes ebbed after 9/11 - is behind much of the demand for pilots, said Kip Darby, president of Atlanta-based AIR. Much of the industry is returning to profitability after wresting huge pay and benefits concessions from employees, shedding expensive retirement programs and shifting more flying to contract carriers such as SkyWest. Rising fares and falling jet fuel prices are helping, too.
At the same time, the military - traditionally one of the best sources of commercial pilots - is retaining more of its aviators. And many pilots who leave the military are choosing other careers, underlining the instability in the airline industry that has pushed many carriers to extract big pay and benefit cuts from their employees.
"The next big crisis is a lack of qualified crews," said Ed Thiel, a Delta Air Lines captain and member of the executive council of the Delta unit of the Air Line Pilots Association. "The airlines are having difficulty finding qualified applicants. There are not as many people coming out of the military route, and it's almost prohibitively expensive to go through the civilian route, while the career has degraded to the point where it doesn't make sense to go into the business."
Aspiring pilots who enroll in aeronautical colleges can expect big tuition bills. An undergraduate degree at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida costs almost $100,000. Thiel said nonacademic routes to a job at a major airline can be as expensive and take 10 years to complete.
All the same, a job isn't hard to find after a pilot earns a commercial license.
Two years ago, Frank Ayers, chairman of Embry-Riddle's flight department, was able to keep graduates on as flight instructors for a couple of years before they landed a job flying for a regional airline or other employer.
"I'm lucky now if I keep someone six months," Ayers said. "Don't get me wrong; it's a good problem to have. Despite all the bankruptcies, it appears that the increased demand for air travel is solid. Airlines have finished downsizing and have figured out how to fly profitably."
Analysts are betting that most airlines will report strong earnings in 2007. Ray Neidl of Calyon Securities thinks that American Airlines could earn earn $4.06 per share, or about $889 million, with United Airlines earning $4.80, or abut $531 million. SkyWest is expected to be the most profitable regional carrier, earning $2.71 a share, or close to $173 million, this year.
"There is a relationship between airline profits and hiring," AIR's Darby said. He believes that some airlines will earn as much as $1 billion a year as their profitability builds during the rest of the decade. "If that relationship holds true, we will see a lot of hiring."
The pilot hiring that SkyWest is undertaking is part of a broader plan to expand its 10,000-employee work force by up to 4,000 workers this year. In part, turnover is pushing the airline to accelerate pilot hiring. Regionals historically have been where young pilots assemble enough flying experience to move to bigger airlines.
About 10 percent of SkyWest's pilots leave the company each year. Some pack it in when they reach age 60. (Last week, the FAA said it would propose raising the compulsory retirement age to 65.) Others leave for jobs at other airlines, said Camille Ence, manager of pilot recruitment.
Most pilots who leave hope to hire on at national airlines and air cargo companies, which pay more and give better benefits, Darby said. FedEx pays an Airbus A380 captain with 10 years of experience $17,464 a month, according to WillFlyForFood.cc, a Web site that compares pilot pay. An American Airlines captain flying a Boeing 767 earns $11,008 a month. SkyWest jet captains with a decade of experience earn about $3,000 a month. First officers are paid $1,425 a month, according to WillFlyForFood.
Although some bankrupt carriers have turned their retirement programs over to the government Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp., most retirement packages at the bigger airlines are still defined-benefit programs instead of 401(k) programs. Bigger airlines also provide more rest time between flights, Darby said.
The key reason why SkyWest must hire hundreds of new pilots this year is its growing alliance with Delta. In November, Delta selected SkyWest Inc. to take over some of the regional flying business operated by its Comair subsidiary. This month, Delta will shift the flying of 12 Canadair regional jets to SkyWest, The company also is waiting to hear whether Delta will award it another 131 Comair jets. Each aircraft needs a rotation of nine pilots.
Delta also granted eight of the 70-seat jets to SkyWest when it bought Atlantic Southeast Airlines in September 2005. Those aircraft are scheduled to be delivered between now and May.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
