Comments on: Fact and Fallacy of the Pilot Shortage

By: Sandra switzer

Sandra switzer — Sun, 03 Jul 2022 15:01:10 +0000

You made no mention of two factors affecting the present and future availability of pilots, especially well experienced pilots: 1) the number of pilots and other airline personnel fired for nothing other than refusal to be injected with an experimental substance and 2) the stated policy of at least one major airline to focus its future recruitment and training for pilots on minority and female candidates. That limits their pool of applicants significantly and will cause the industry to eliminate from consideration persons with the necessary skill and constitution to perform well in the cockpit. This is what happens when fools have power.

By: Cole Byrne

Cole Byrne — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 21:13:43 +0000

Thanks for sharing this! All the best!

By: Michael

Michael — Sat, 30 May 2020 05:06:09 +0000

I find it interesting you talk about the 1500 hour rule and the Colgan Air crash to which both the captain and first officer both had over 2000 hours each. As an aspiring pilot myself, with 12 flight hours, even I can see what happened with that accident and the mistakes that were made. There is far more to that story than you are letting on, and the data doesn’t support why the rule was changed. The rule was changed based strictly on emotion.

As a pilot, you know all the written tests we are required to take. All the oral exams based on those written exams, and all the check rides. If these pilots weren’t safe, they wouldn’t have gotten signed off on.

Yes, there was pilot error that took place, but more to the story was based on being allowed to fly while being fatigued.

None of this should mean it should cost a small fortune to obtain a job flying a plane. Now, people are forced to become flight instructors who couldn’t care less about their students and are only there to gain flight hours. That doesn’t create better pilots when you are forcing pilots to take on a teaching job they never wanted, and the student pays for that in the end.

All of this is indirectly making bad pilots because they aren’t getting the proper training from their instructors.

By: Walt Ridley

Walt Ridley — Fri, 03 Jan 2020 05:04:47 +0000

After reading you article about the regional carriers being in panic mode, I am a little concerned. I enjoy being the passenger in RJs. They are comfortable, sleek, and usually 2 seats a side. How is the training to actual flight hours become sufficient enough to competently fly passengers.

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 22 Dec 2019 19:53:21 +0000

Just read an article about the crash of Atlas Air Flight 3591. It looks to me like a cargo airline got a big contract from Amazon, hired a guy that hid his negatives, and set him up for the ultimate failure: killing himself and 2 others.

How bad is it for cargo haulers, and isn’t likely to spill over into passenger airlines? Where are the future pilots coming from?

By: Greg

Greg — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 06:58:13 +0000

In reply to James. Yes, it is worth, follow your dream.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 16:11:19 +0000

In the near future planes will fly without a pilot. They will use systems similar to what you see with the military drones, someone will fly them from a centralized location sitting in a room.
The plane will fly by itself for the most part at cruise and then someone will take over at the “pilot center” for landings and takeoffs etc. An expert at the airport will take over for taxiing.
It’s coming, the technology already exists, why would anyone think it won’t be implemented.
I predict that it will first come into use for the right seat job.

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 19:17:39 +0000

I’m 45 years old, and have a fairly high paying job that I’m not super thrilled with. I would love to become an airline pilot, it was my childhood dream that was set aside because there was no way to fund the education. Today, the financial toll it would take on my young family to pursue this career still makes it impossible to pursue, and were I to finance my own way into the career at this point in my life there would be no realistic way for me to make back the cost of training plus the lost wages. It’s an interesting conundrum – if the barrier to entry were lower there probably wouldn’t be such a shortage, and there would be a terribly large amount of competition for those opportunities as I am quite sure that the number of people who would love to become an airline pilot but can’t pass the barrier to entry exceeds the demand.

By: Dami

Dami — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 17:15:15 +0000

The statement PILOT SHORTAGE bothers me so much. Meanwhile here in my country there are thousands of youth who wants to become a professional pilot but due to the high cost of the training, youths could not achieve that great dream. In the US they complain, Hungry complains, indigo, flybe and other airlines like that. Why can’t they just train this people to become a pilot instead of making a lot of complaint like that. I’ve always wanted to be one to but finance is my problem too. We are ready to work hard as possible to achieve this dream only if we will be sponsored. Not only that, I have up to about 50 people who’s is interested. I would be glad if we will be trained to become a pilot decreasing the shortage in pilots. Thanks.

By: Thomas Owen Morley

Thomas Owen Morley — Mon, 20 May 2019 18:41:11 +0000

In reply to Jeff Guinn. How much are they paying YOU?