Regional airline CEO warns of pilot shortage
 

From the Airline Convention in Charlotte this week:


Who will fly the planes? Regional airline CEO warns of pilot shortage | The Charlotte Observer

Came in here expecting to read another Bryan Bedford rant. At least he didn't ***** about the 1500 hour rule the whole interview.

PSA hasn't done a whole lot of late to make itself an attractive airline to come to, so he might want to take a look in the mirror first before griping to the local news media.

"He acknowledged that low starting salaries are an issue, but he said PSA encourages prospective pilots to think of their career in terms of more than the first year. Given the airline’s growth and connection to American, new first officers can get promoted and move up to American in a decade or less."

Seriously! CEO of one of the lowest paying airlines that just took concessions from its pilots wonders why people aren't kicking down the door to work there. Pay $100,000 to get qualified, make 20k your first year. But don't worry you'll probably get "promoted" to American in a decade or so....

“We try to condition people to look at it over a three- to five-year time frame.”

Good luck feeding yourself until then! Literally one of the worst things I've ever read.

The best thing pilots can do is explain that there isn't a shortage. There is intense competition among low-paying organizations to get bodies into seats. At the same time, no major has cancelled a class (or likely even had an empty seat in a class). This is not a shortage... this is a functioning labor market.

Maybe he should live a year on first year FO pay.

Isn't this basically admitting there is a B-scale in place? "Get hired here and you are hired at American!"

I've been saying this for a while. How can American own, manage, AND keep profits from "separate" companies paying lower payscales for pilots while they already have a contracted union labor force?

And commute to reserve.

You guys are making good points. i just spent a year and a half not flying because I was not going to waist my time for 20000 per year. There is no shortage of pilots. Pay a pilot 75000 a year and you will have all the FOs you need. Make captain's pay 120 and classes will fill up again. Many of my friends just sit at home.