Presidents of Regional Airline and Air Line Pilots Associations Argue Over Hours-Reduction Proposal

Scathing letters to each other reveal opposing sides of the debate on how to fix the pilot shortage.

Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 05:31 PM ET

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It's becoming difficult to fill pilot chairs on airline aircraft. Leaders differ on how to fix the problem. [File photo: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and the Regional Airlines Association (RAA) are in a public and heated dispute over how to address the ongoing pilot shortage.
ALPA accuses the RAA and its member airlines of attempting to weaken critical pilot safety rules, like the 1,500-hour flight minimum, and instead urges them to focus on improving pilot compensation and career progression.
The RAA strongly refutes ALPA's claims, arguing that ALPA misrepresents data, conflates flight hours with training quality, and contradicts its own past positions on pilot experience, thereby hindering solutions to the shortage and regional air service.

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There is a growing tension between two prominent airline industry stakeholders, and based on events this week, it could be a while before things simmer down.

The Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA) is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents more than 64,000 pilots at 39 U.S. and Canadian airlines. It has proven to be a powerful advocate for benefits for its pilots, from rest rules to compensation. Separately, the Regional Airlines Association (RAA) represents 17 North American regional airlines and 280 associate and non-airline members. This includes manufacturers of products and services supporting the regional airline industry. Considering that more than 41 percent of all scheduled flights in the U.S. are operated by regional airlines, the people that ALPA and the RAA represent overlap.