Deepening Pilot Shortage to Raise Fares

Demand for pilots is picking up rapidly, both in the U.S. and around the world, particularly in China and India. U.S. commercial air travel is expected to grow by 500,000, to 1.2 billion passengers by 2020, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Domestically, airlines are increasingly finding it more efficient to fly smaller planes, which means more-frequent flights, requiring more pilots.
Uncle Sam will help some by raising the mandatory retirement age to 65. Look for the FAA to issue a rule later this month allowing one pilot of a commercial flight to be over 60, as long as the other one isn’t. The International Civil Aviation Organization recently approved a fly-until-65 standard, making it easier for the FAA to follow suit.
But airlines still face an uphill battle for more pilots. They’ll struggle to fill about 12,000 jobs this year and are looking at having to fill another 20,000 openings by 2009 because of retirements and other factors.
To meet the demand, airlines are offering $5000 signing bonuses and $1000 or more to employees for referrals that lead to a hire. In addition, airlines will soon offer to pay at least some of a pilot trainee’s schooling costs if he or she commits to working for the airline after graduation. Costs aren’t cheap — they typically run from $175,000 to $200,000 per pilot. Regional carriers, which are especially hard hit by shortages, are also lowering experience requirements from 1500 hours to 250, the FAA minimum.
14/09/07 Martha Lynn Craver/The Kiplinger Letter/Kiplinger.com, US