I think you may be right in the larger scheme of things, but not strictly in the 121 world. I read about flight schools struggling to find instructors, people not entering training, etc. Is it pay, just lack of interest in aviation, etc...? The upfront cost not worth the perceived long-term gain? This article is interesting and speaks to personal motivations. Some value...well...values when they consider professions, employers. At the end of the day, though, the great culture and pay curves have to meet on the performance chart
You cannot eat great morale, but I also believe only chasing the dollar is a quick recipe for disaster.

Super-64 - interesting screen name. Were you involved?

 

There's still plenty of interest in aviation among today's youth. Most have simply realized that the incredible debt load required just to qualify for your first job is simply not worth it. I'm not even talking about a fancy ERAU degree in whatever along with their flight training. Even going through a small FBO still requires a very large financial investment up front to get ones ratings. That still leaves one unhireable until a certain level of experience can be reached. All that time and effort just to get into the right seat of an RJ and the hope of someday making it to the "big time". To most people, it's simply not worth the financial risk.

 

This is what happens when flight training costs move up exponentially while wages stay stagnant for nearly a decade. Too much easy lending has driven up the costs of that training. The financial barrier of this career is the elephant in the room people seem to be tip toeing around.

 

Not true. Money will fix the shortage almost instantly. Do you know how many qualified pilots left the industry because of pay? Regional FO's should be making six figures, especially after going six figures in debt from school loans.

Pay regional pilots like the professionals they are (except the turds on guard)

 

Yes, I do know, but it still isn't enough to keep up with attrition. And if you raise pay to unrealistic levels, they'll just invest a ton of money in lobbying and technology to replace us faster.

 

Payroll is a total amount in any company. The issue in the airline industry isn't the total payroll, but how it is split between employees. The very heavy top end of airline pay requires a very thin bottom pay to balance things out. Pay isn't the issue so much as division of the pay. It is never going to be fixed because there is no interest on the part of labor and the economics of the airline industry doesn't generate the $$$ for the companies to fix it.

Ultimately though the airline industry offers the highest probable shot at entering the 1% with very limited specialized skills out of any career. Because of that it has been and always will be desirable roll of the dice for people and thus the pool of prospective pilots is always going to be there.

 

Flight training costs is only one expense! why don't you add other expenses for maintenance, environmental issues, attorneys on retainer, regulations, rules, policies, and opinions in which are presently wrecking this industry for top to bottom!

 

I argue that objectives may be different, but the lesson is the same. Money simply doesn't solve the problem. It doesn't for the military and (barring some crazy renegotiation of capacity fee arrangements), it won't solve it for the regionals either.


As much as they want you gone, they want someone to replace you. Heck, they want more than one person to replace you. I liken it to college: nobody expects you to stay for more than 4-5 years, but they still try really hard to get you on their property and later try hard to make you an ambassador of your college experience.

Look at Great Lakes: they have all the boxes (captain, turbine experience), yet the company is about to fold. Other firms are choosing different strategies (or perhaps have defaulted into a strategy).

The regionals don't care who they hire, but the applicants care where they go. As it becomes evident that there are more regional airline seats than butts to sit in those seats, job seekers now have a choice. I offer that "culture" should be something that applicants look at in addition to upgrade times, salary, and all that other stuff that fits easier into metrics.

 

Agreed. My local WIA chapter is full of people at atp mins or close to them that are in other careers and fly as a hobby. They're always telling me how they think I have the best job, I'm living the dream, etc, and they'd jump ship from there careers in a heartbeat if the money was better.

If starting pay was $80k instead of $20-35k, and if they could break 6 figures within a couple years, they'd be able to come on over without having to worry about how to feed their kids and pay their mortgages, and I think quite a few would do it.

 

bold pilot

Do you think flight instruction was free back in the day? When I was paying $25/hour for a C150, gas was .52/Gal, it still cost most of a day's wage for a an hour of instrument instruction. It's always been expensive!