Flying Cheap

I do believe that the pilot shortage is a real and forward prediction that has been in the works of the industry for years. Many of the older veteran pilots are getting farther in age and as they do, the newer generation of pilots that is going to be replacing them has to adhere to stricter requirements following a lax in safety culture at the regional airline level. Some of this is due to the public backlash for the Colgan Air accident in 2009, most commonly known as the 1500-hour ruling as part of a legislative action in the aftermath of the accident. From the federal registrar summary, it states that “As a result of this action, a second in command (first officer) in domestic, flag, and supplemental operations must now hold an airline transport pilot certificate and an airplane type rating for the aircraft to be flown. An airline transport pilot certificate requires that a pilot be 23 years of age and have 1,500 hours total time as a pilot (1).” The ruling goes on to explain exemptions to this in the form of the reduced ATP that can be obtained through means such as a bachelor’s degree in aviation. This ruling has effectively increased the training time for aspiring pilots and given this shortage of pilots more of a road bump. Part of the way that regional carriers are compensating for this are by offering bonuses for staying with the airline and for signing on to it. This is used to capture new pilots and keep the older ones. This can help to a certain limited degree but will not compensate for the shortage we now face as the increased training requirements have not and will not be removed.

The regional airlines are concerned for the hiring pool of pilots with the new 1500-hour rule due to the increased time and qualifications that need to be met in order to legally sign a pilot on. This means that they will need to find a way to keep the pilots that they have long enough to let the new pilots complete these advanced training requirements, while offering them enough to entice this new generation to stay with regional carriers with the increased expenses of training. Some of the new “perks” are things such as sign on bonuses and retention bonuses. Curt Epstein is a respected journalist who has worked with ainonline for a number of years to help report on the aviation industry. One of the things he discusses are these retention bonuses for captains and first officers. Curt states “…, second-year salaries for Embraer jets increase to $59.03 per hour, plus a captain retention bonus of $7,500. Those who do not upgrade to captain will receive a salary of $40,770 (based on 1,000 hours) plus a $10,000 first-officer retention bonus. (1).” The example of how Embraer has kept some more experienced pilots in their fleet. They give retention bonuses for staying in the airline and even offer more for the first officers. Another thing that Epstein states as an example is a “Cadet” program that allows CFI pilots to take a short amount of money after signing to offset living expenses as new pilots (1). These are just two ways regional airlines are trying to keep older veteran pilots of the company and attract new pilots from the small supplies we see today.

Professionalism is a manner of acting in which you use your skills and experiences to execute activities inside and outside the workplace.

Two ways that the documentary showed a lack of professionalism were the examples of safety culture failure at Colgan air by the management and the unsafe practices of the pilots involved. Starting with the pilots, the captain was a very low experienced pilot in the Q400 jet that he was commanding and had multiple failed check rides, which shows a certain amount of inadequacy of allowance to even be at the controls of that aircraft. The first officer, who had spent the 24 hours prior to the flight traveling across the continental United States to get to her flight, was sick, underpaid, and very scared to call in sick due to the fact that she wouldn’t get paid. 

The management of Colgan, who failed to adhere to safe conditions and practices, not only allowed these pilot practices to foster, but continued to pay these pilots very low money for incredibly long hours, and forcing pilots to stay in unsafe locations. Even the regional airlines association representative in the documentary was very evasive and even completely untruthful for most of his interview.  

I completely agree that the pay and structure of the regional airlines were both contributing factors to the lack of professionalism demonstrated in the documentary. When you are making close to $23,000/year in gross income, you aren’t in a very good position after having to pay for possibly two living places, home and crash pad, food, student loans, and other expenses, This pay is almost an insult to the hard working employees of the regionals at the time. The structure was so badly constructed that it pushed pilots to make bad decisions to fly in inclement or awful weather conditions when not fit for duty in order to get paid and continue to prosper in the company. Finally, without help in oversight from the “big brother” company, the growth of these regional carriers was out of control and the safety habits were very lacking and below an acceptable level.

Two specific ways I plan on maintaining and expanding my level of professionalism once im employed at my job are to continue to gain ratings to expand my flying abilities, and constantly seek improvement and advice through the older generation of pilots. I have always wanted to continue flying for myself and even repair my own aircraft someday, so getting additional ratings and continuing to fly for pleasure as well as a career is an integral part of keeping up a professional level as I progress. The second reason of seeking help in the older and more experienced pilots may sound obvious but no less important because of that. Seeking help is something that is hard to do, especially for pilots, and keeping a constant improvement mindset will help me expand and grow as a professional pilot until far beyond my expectations.

References

Epstein, C. (2016, December 22). Starting Salaries On the Rise at Regional Airlines. Retrieved January 21, 2018, from https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2016-12-22/starting-salaries-rise-regional-airlines

Federal Aviation Administration. (2013, July 15). Pilot Certification and Qualification Requirements for Air Carrier Operations; Final Rule. Retrieved January 21, 2018, from https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-07-15/html/2013-16849.htm