Right more assistance in loans will totally fix the shortage. No biggy, just take out $100,000 in federal student loans at a 7-8% interest rate. Then you can go work at a reduced pay rate at one of the regional shops until one day a mainline shop maybe gives you a shot.

But until then, nothing is guaranteed, and enjoy your accrued interest on top of the $100,000 loan, which ends up being a monthly payment around the same rate you pay for rent.

Thankfully I took out private loans (2-3% interest) and was able to get some assistance in scholarships, which allowed me to have my loans paid off just past my first year in the left seat as a regional captain. But for most that’s not the case, and those Federal loans are killer.

Scott’s solution to fix a shortage was to encourage more individuals to take on 6 figure debt. Good luck 👍. And once again, I have seriously question his intelligence.

 

Whoaa hold on. Federal loans are not nearly as bad as private loans depending on your decade. Those who were in college from 2000-2010 likely had variable rate private loans because those were the only things offered. At least federal loans are generally fixed.

• Federal loans qualify for hardship forbearance by law, private loans it's by program and at the discretion of the lender.
• Federal loans can be consolidated through the federal consolidation mechanism, private must be through another private loan and lender.
• Federal loans qualify for income based repayment and graduated payment schedules. Private loans do not.
• Federal loans can be forgiven after 25 years on certain payment plans, private loans cannot.

I went years with variable rate private loans because my credit wasn't good enough to get a refi amount that would cover them all, so I was variable between 8%-15% on them. I finally refinanced the one I had left during covid and it went from 12% to 5%... My federals were fixed the whole time at 7%.

 

I went through school from 2011-2015. I had the complete opposite scenario. Private loans variable were 3.15% fixed was 5%. You can switch your loans over to fixed if the variable rate increases past the fixed. So the fixed rate is a suckers rate. Federal loans were 7-8%.

 

Kirby is posturing to have the government throw money at the problem so he doesn't have to. We don't need more government help. The jobs need to pay enough to make it worthwhile to spend the money on the education. Get rid of the FFD model and bring all flying in house. No more cheap contractors.

While we're at it, let's address the cost of learning to fly. There's no need to waste money on a university degree and a fancy airplane. Get your licenses and ratings as cheaply as possible and get your job.

 

^ this right here

 

You aren't wrong but just about every other professional career gets subsidies of one sort of another. Pilots without military benefits are basically on their own.

Do I personally love government meddling in the economy and the unintended consequences it creates? No. But Kirby is right to lobby for what other industries get.

To the point a few posts ago: There are two shortages right now. One is the current shortage of pilots willing to work for the wages offered. The other is the future shortage if flight school enrollments stay where they are.

Kirby is more concerned with the later since he can stripe mine the regionals to solve the former. He appears quite prepared to do that and to allow UAX to shrink.

It will be very interesting to see when the market finally finds some equilibrium.

 

Yea and after the recession there was a different story on interest rates. But the rest I said about the protections and benefits afforded federal loans still stands.

 

Yeah those “protections” aren’t worth jack $hit, but whatever makes you feel better.

 

IMO the covid subsidies were a rare example of where the .gov SHOULD meddle in the economy... the long-term economic consequences of allowing the airlines to liquidate and/or shrink by 50% would have been frankly catastrophic. It would have taken several years to rebuild capacity and even then the gov would probably have had to help.

Fair to other sectors? No. But bartenders, baristas and small business are a lot easier and quicker to recover than airlines.

 

Not to mention that the bartenders and baristas were pretty well taken care of as well with the enhanced unemployment. I know a few people who got their hours cut, qualified for a meager state unemployment benefit but then got the whole federal enhancement. Most made well more than they were making full time, and thankfully many of them spent it on travel and other things keeping the economy turning.