The "shortage", if you will, will be akin to the same one that existed prior to 9/11.

The "shortage" is because airlines are reactive instead of proactive. They will be short on the line because they can't hire/train enough of the highly qualified pilots that are in their pool.

A better question would be "Will there be a shortage that our labor group can leverage into an improved bargaining position and better pay and QOL for pilots as a whole."

...nah, not as catchy.

Future Jobs?
 

Will there be jobs in the future? Maybe... A better question is, will they be worth having? I don't know.

Skyhigh

Will there be a shortage of pilots willing to work at a regional for $20k/yr? Maybe

Will Corporate departments have trouble finding someone to fly their Global for $200k/yr? Nope. Will Legacy carriers have trouble finding qualified applicants to fly their planes? Nope!

So we have learned there is a shortage of good paying pilot jobs. Supply and Demand.

Will there be a big need for regional pilots in the next 5 years compared to the previous 5 years? I doubt it, we have already seen the growth in the regional carriers and the 50 seater is dying. Oil continues to rise, which suffocates smaller aircraft flying short haul routes with thin profit margins.

This is easily fixed.

Just slap "RJ" after the brand name of any airplane and you can source it out for less. It has 100 seats? Thats OK. It's still an RJ, so will require "regional" pilots to fly.

The line between what is mainline and what is regional is getting so blurred, even my first class medical passing eyes are struggling to discern it.

When an RJ is flying from ORD - SAT, MIA - PIT, or other similar route, non stop, we've crossed the line.

There was a shortage and there will be again. Numbers don't lie. 121 carriers weren't hiring at 300hrs, majors weren't upgrading in 2 yrs, and the age limit wasn't pushed from 60 to 65 for no reason.

Like mentioned earlier though. The real question is if there were be any bargaining power for pilots to get their pay back.

Shortage?
 

There was no pilot shortage. Only a shortage of people who were willing to do the job for the compensation being offered. The economic bubble caused every industry to artificially surge. Now that things are getting back to normal it most likely will take a generation to reach another situation where there is a shortage of pilots who are willing to work for scraps.

Pilots will have to continue to fight and scrape to keep what they have now.

Skyhigh