Really slow right now. There are barely any new students coming in, and the ones that are in already are running out of financing and have to stop since the banks will not up their loans.

The reasons I'm in "this," probably the same reasons you are.

This article makes me wonder what marketing ploy DCA is using to scam students. Are they telling prospective student that Delta is dismantling Comair and Mesaba? Do they tell students that they will not have a job when they graduate? Do they tell students that if you work for Comair a Delta wholly owned company it will take you 10 to 11 years to upgrade and 5 years to get out of reserve? Do they tell students that if they get hired by a Delta wholly owned company they will get furloughed while other contract DCI companies expand and hire? What a scam!

In response to the article.....Academies like DCA always seem to be pushing this looming "pilot shortage" when times get tough. So what if you cant qualify for a fat loan to rip through your ratings. There are other paths, they just require you to work harder. How about working full time while living below your means to pay for your flight training on the side. Can't get a job in this economy? How about serving your country for a few years and using the GI bill to pay for your flight training? I know a guy who went to truck driving school (a perennial favorite joke around here), drove for a year, lived in his truck, and then took a year off to do all of his single engine stuff. He then returned to driving truck for another year to pay for his CFI and multi-engine time. He has a very good flying job right now. My point being, that the airlines, banks and others should not be responsible for everyone who wants to be a pilot actually becoming one. The individual should. I'm fairly certain that DCA had their own interests in mind more so than that of the aspiring pilot when they held this round table.

There Is No Pilot Shortage.

I completely agree...The only way an FO is even really worth 40K is if they have an ATP, 135 experience/military flight experience/significant CFI time, and probably 1,000 hours multi piston or single engine turbine.

I'm sure they were all getting together to figure out ways that students will still sign up regardless of financing. It is their job as a business to attract new clients. However, it's a little sketchy to be painting fictional pictures in potential clients heads over "their new airline career."

All things being considered, if a new student pilot can't figure out the pros vs cons in aviation, before starting, then we should question their judgement making process from the beginning.

There will never be a pilot shortage. We will always have 250 hour wonders that are willing to work for $19,000 per year to fly a new shinny jet for a bottom feeder. The ATP mandate will never pass.

There is one positive aspect on the "pilot shortage" perspective... the law of supply and demand dictates that when there is great demand for a product and limited supplies... then that product has a greater value.

With the reduction in capacity and the age 65, at this moment that law is stacked against us. Thus pilot wages are low.

But if that shortage actually happens, and regionals cannot man their jets, there is a chance that better contracts and better wages all across the board might return, and in turn make this profession attractive to young people again.

That is the "wishful thinking" way to view this issue.

In reality I expect the Airline Management to come up with some sort of plan in order to avoid this altogheter. And yes, Ab Initio will be a reality, as well as contract flying... it is up to the unions to fight and make sure we are not undersold when that happens...

See post above

That sounds more like a union issue more than anything else. You are paid based on how well you negotiate - no more, no less.

By the way, they have been talking about "pilot shortages" ever since the Wright Flyer days.