Additional data from the University of North Dakota shows that over the next 20 years, a total of 45,000 pilots will be forced to retire(Higgins, J, et.al., 2013). The massive amount of future retirements is rather concerning due to the fact that there are only a total of 18,000 pilots currently flying for regional airlines (Higgins, J, et al., 2013).
Increased Entry Level Wages
When looking at the pilot storage a major reason for the lack of new pilots is the low wages for entry level pilots. In order to draw more attention to a career in aviation raising compensation for new pilots is vital. There are many different ways to increase entry level pay, some of which include signing bonuses, better health care plans, and various profit sharing opportunities. Many regional airlines have already began drastically increasing wages from an average of $20,000 to 60,000 in just a few years.(Larson,2015) Increasing wages will help encourage new pilots that are considering spending thousands of dollars on flight training make the commitment since the risk vs reward tradeoff would not be as high. Increased wages will allow flight students to pay off loans quicker making it less of a financial burden form them and their families.
Pathway & Cadet Programs
Another viable solution to attracting new pilots into the industry is by setting up cadet or pathway programs. These programs differ from one airline to the next but usually consist or airlines selecting young pilots with little or no experience and training them until they are qualified to be a first officer (Smith, 2016). Instead of students paying for their own training, students sign a contract and work for the airline for a certain period of time in order to repay the training costs. Gateway programs are beginning to show up in U.S. airlines with JetBlue and American Airlines being a few examples. Currently JetBlue’s gateway program consists of a four year program in which new candidates are trained from zero time to a JetBlue first officer where the begin repaying training costs (Pilot Career News, 2017). In addition to JetBlue, American Airlines has a cadet program that helps young pilots with tuition reimbursement as well as provides them with mentorship and internships with American Airlines (American Airlines Group, 2016). Programs like American Airlines cadet program help ease the cost of training and also help aspiring pilots gain real world experience. Since they have partnerships with over 40 institutions it is very excessible and easy for individuals to get involved.
School-to-Job Bridge Agreements
In addition to Pathway and Cadet Programs, School-to-job Bridge Agreements may also be a beneficial solution. School-to-Job Bridge programs allow young pilots to build up flight time while in a college aviation program. For example SkyWest and Utah Valley University have an agreement where college students are guaranteed a job at Skywest upon graduation given the individual meets specific requirements outlined in the program(Ballard, 2013). Some of these requirements include maintaining a good GPA and obtaining a Certified Flight Instructor rating (Ballard, 2013). Bridge guarantee students a job upon graduation which provides them with a great incentive to work hard to ensure themselves a great future in aviation.
Conclusion
As perviously discussed above there are numerous factors that led to the shortage of qualified pilots in the industry. At the moment numerous airlines, flight departments, and flight schools are all searching for a viable solution. Some examples of these solutions include increasing entry level pay, pathway programs, scholarships, and mentorships. One solution that research is proving to be viable is increasing pay. Regional airlines are beginning to offer sign on bonuses, increasing allowances, offering good health insurance coverage, and providing a reasonable 401k (Jamie, 2016) While significant progress still needs to be made, many new pilots are beginning to reconsider the career since the Risk vs Return trade off as not as high. Many Regional carriers are also beginning to offer pathway programs. There are numerous ways in which the programs are run, but normally involve providing pilots with little to no experience with financial aid, mentorship, and a structured path to the airline.
