Pilot Shortage Video on WSJ Online:
 

Video - U.S. Pilot Shortfall Hits Earlier, Worse Than Expected - WSJ.com

It's officially here :)

Pilot Shortage Video on WSJ Online:
 

When it translates to dollars for us, then it will be here. Right now, management is holding back on pay increase. First option will be to shrink to fit. Once they can't shrink anymore, then I think the next step would be to increase pay. The first airline to do so will come out ahead.
The saying the management is using is "we must cut cost to be competitive." I'm hoping in the future the new saying will say "In exchange for operational efficiencies (co-domicile, dual type) we will offer a pay increase." This will combat the entry level of pay at the same time, increase their productivity. Our only saving grace will be the new rest rules. Then they won't be able to push us that hard. Time will tell...

Title should read : "Poor pilot pay leads to lack of interest". There isn't one airline who's first year pay exceeds $35k who doesn't have a line out the door. $35k isn't shooting for the stars either.

supply and demand! its show time!!

Fancy marketing for the flight school mills is all that is . . . they're not paying enough to make me switch from my current IT gig or better yet, provide a better QOL!

Same here. I have ATP mins and would love to fly for the airlines if they paid. When starting IT salaries are 60-80k, and 3 years experience pays 80-100 why would I ever leave?

I'm in aviation getting another degree in IT. Can't wait to get out

Retention Bonus.

Gave up the airline life for a regular job and would love to get back into it...but here's the key, I'm in a good career field making a decent salary with earning potential up into the $130k range without the need for additional promotions etc...not a lot of incentive to leave this industry despite my love of aviation.

If aviation was offering decent salaries, good retirements, and something that remotely resembled job security then I'd jump on it...what's odd is that it's a very "secure" job with very "insecure" companies...the world is going to need pilots until they either make the aircraft unmanned or develop a new form of transportation, but companies that operate so near the breaking point really doesn't allow this reality to prove true.

^^^ Agree with the above, they will shrink and continue to reduce cost. They have already started by slowly getting rid of the 50 seaters 2:1 with 76 seaters. When it reaches the point that they start losing money on that process, then pay will go up. Meanwhile, the new rest rules will help prevent some of the abuse. This is setting up very well for the future. There's only one problem, our politicians can revert things when their flights home are being canceled and their communities are complaining about the lack or reduction of airline service. But, we shall see - says the blind man to the deaf man :D

Wow.. so there's been a little hiring at the regional level for the past year, and they are crying "pilot shortage".

Wonder how long before congress steps in if they are already blaming the shortage on 117. Not to mention when all the 50 seaters start disappearing in the next few years which will balance out the hiring at the majors.

The RAA is going to be taking every opportunity to lobby for a regulation change in regards to pilot hiring instead of raising pay to levels that would generate interest in these dirt bag airlines.

It's in the pilots best interest to speak of, and propagate the hiring going on at the regionals as little as possible.

Name one other industry that has an increase in labor demand and asks for concessions. Self induced problem caused by an obsolete business plan revolving around a saturation of pilots for decades. If the legacy carrier's plan is to cut regional flying instead of wage increases, then they are in for a rude awakening when Spirit, Southwest, and Jet Blue take over their routes and cut off their feed.

In the IT field myself. There's no way in hell I will ever entertain the regional airlines. Know too many regional pilots with the same story about how management treats them worse than pigs in a slaughter house. With all these concessions that management is trying to choke down the pilots' throats with the help of the union (sell outs), who wants to get involved with the abuse?

When they start improving pay and quality of life, this "shortage" won't be a problem.

Yep. The RAA is nothing but a leech sucking on the regional managements' ... well, we all know what RAA is sucking on, with Roger Cohen being on his knees all his life.

They would rather sell lies about the pilot career than to make the lies a truth.

Uh, aren't you the guy that paid over $100k to places like Jet U so that you could work for the regionals?

EDIT: Just did a quick search, I see it was the CAPT program. Same difference. But seems pretty disingenuous to make your statement above when you were willing to go into a crazy amount of debt just a few years ago just to attempt working at the regionals.

This is my curiosity, too.

There are higher paying IT jobs out there, however, I would caution in putting your eggs in that basket. The days of the IT professional are numbered. Nobody knows how long for sure, but with all the push toward cloud computing, the days of in-house infrastructure and administration will be phased out. Companies like Amazon, NetApp, Microsoft, EMC (the list goes on) are working very diligently to push computing toward a transparent utility based model, where all the real computing will take place on the server side, administered by the provider. Read "The Big Switch: rewiring the world from Edison to Google" for some insight. For even more proof, just take a look at how the "network administration" jobs have disappeared over the last 20 years. Novell network administrators and Microsoft MCE's were in HOT demand throughout the 90's, now those certifications have become almost irrelevant (but not completely yet, there are still legacy systems out there). If you want to stay safer in the world of technology, pursue a degree in computer science/engineering. I would advise against a degree in information systems. I have spent much time in the industry, and the grass isn't greener for everyone in the field.

Sorry for the thread drift, carry on!

WRXPilot,

Not going to recap what happened to me with CAPT as it is well documented.

My sentiments about the regional airlines have changed. Should I be stuck in the past mentality of SJS and not modify my position as a direct result of new information? Seems more disingenuous if I did that.

Face it, it was a different time 10 years ago. Are you telling me it is better now than it was then? Seems to me things have changed for the worst. Or do you disagree?

PS, still paying off that huge ass loan. I'm about 50% paid off now. And no, CAPT was not worth it. That position I will hold to my grave.

Most can't raise first year pay if they wanted to...ALPA will say nope...you must raise ALL our pay to raise first year. They can't afford to do that because the Airline they are lifting for will tell them to pound sand when they ask for more money just like United and Delta told Pinnacle to do.

They want the lift and they want it cheap or not at all. They have customers that want their round trip to Ft Myers for $69 and won't pay a penny more.

Someone needs to pay up and no one wants to so screw everyone. You want me to fly? PAY ME

Which is insane. Alpa should be all hands on deck to make the difference between first and second year pay a 3-5% increase, just like 2nd to 3rd year, just like 7th-8th year, etc.

I am chiming in here as well that I would love to go to the airlines but can't take that much of a hit in pay and QOL. Ballpark, I would need to make QXE 2nd year CAPT pay to start to keep things going. In the meantime, I am headed to C-12's/BE20T's for the Guard and will get my fix that way while paying things down to maybe be able to live off of 1st year pay sometime down the line.

I am glad the video brought up pay and the dude had the balls to say so. I hope the main point of that "there is no pilot shortage, just a shortage of qualified folks willing to work for less than McDonald's wages" keeps getting hammered into the public.

This is still coming to a head and something is going to have to give. I think we as a national pilot group have and will continue to stand united. Keep up the fight, guys!

Dual Qualified
 

I just can't see why Pilot Unions would allow this. Why pay for a raise with a productivity increase like dual qualified. I worked in a union job long enough to know that when you give something back, you never will get it back.

You'll spend 10 years at your regional and real realize that there is nothing left. Don't pay for your raise!

ALPA should have taken out a superbowl ad saying "Despite what you hear, there's no pilot shortage! Just a shortage of pilots wanting to fly for $19,000/year"

Or at least put it on billboards in the most major markets...just outside of ATL, JFK, ORD, IAD, DEN, etc...the customers would get the point...and then they'd go find the lowest fair possible and complain about the size of the jet. But at least they'd see the argument before Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, and the other idiots get a hold of it.

They probably rather use our dues to beef up the salaries in Herndon and grease politicians to work in mainlines interest!

Cool insight. I appreciated the short view into this world, and it makes perfect sense. Thanks!

It's a constant theme - there's a bunch of available pilots doing other work that would consider returning given an adjustment to the salary structure.

Nursing is in a similar dilemma - except it's with instructors. To be an instructor at a university you need a PhD. Then that professor gig pays 40% below "line" nurses. Why spent the time and money to get a PhD. for a significantly lower salary? So there's a bunch of people that want to become nurses and no one to teach them. Hence, like aviation, an industry induced shortage.

Shift all flying back to mainline, problem solved. Thousands of regional pilots hired/stapled.

Bingo, he hit the mark. See 2:45.