Airlines across the world are seeing the weighing effects of pilot and crew member shortages. Flight cancellations in the U.S. have soared over the past few months as a result of the staff shortage. Both Republic Airways and SkyWest Airlines, two of the largest U.S. regional airlines have anticipated the shortage and cut their schedules as a result.
A major question in the aviation industry when the pandemic hit was when will the demand for pilots return? It looks like that time is already here. During the pandemic, more than 10,000 pilots left the industry. According to FAA airman certification statistics, in 2021 about 71,000 pilots who hold an ATP qualification were between the ages of 50 and 64, and therefore due to retire in the next 15 years. That is about 49% of the current ATP-qualified population.
According to Oliver Wyman, a shortage of more than 12,000 pilots is expected by the end of 2023 and Republic Airways says to expect the problem to get worse, before it gets better. The Regional Airline Association trade group, says there were 4,928 new commercial airline pilots certified in 2021. That is less than half of the 11,526 pilots that the group estimates U.S. airlines plan to hire this year.
Major airlines like American, United and Southwest are hiring regional airline crew members at a rate faster than they can replace their lost staff. Because of this, regionals are going to be most affected by the shortage and are working tirelessly to find solutions to end the shortage. Airliners like Alaskan, American and Southwest are launching their own academy programs to keep up with the high rebound of travel in the U.S and pilot shortage. Piedmont, Envoy, and PSA have increased their sign-on bonuses for first officers and captain upgrades. Regionals like Piedmont and Envoy have re-implemented their cadet programs. After interviewing and signing on with the regional of your choice, you’ll receive financial assistance, guidance, and other perks while building your flight hours.
It has never been a better time to begin your aviation journey and start the path toward your commercial airline career. As aviation professionals, we are confident in our accelerated flight training curriculum to expedite your pilot training needs. We combine top training concepts from industry leader Sporty’s and own customization to create our FAA Part 141 approved syllabus which ensures you have all of the right tools at your disposal to succeed in your accelerated flight training from the very start.
For more information regarding our programs call 215-969-0311.
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