Pilot Shortage

Purdue University’s School of Aviation and Transportation Technology has announced the creation of the Purdue University National Aviation Symposium: Emerging Critical Shortages of Pilots and Maintenance Technicians. This three-day symposium, scheduled for April 6 to 8, 2022, will unite the aviation community— including airlines, manufacturers, industry associations, labor unions, government agencies, and academic institutions—to identify […]

Just 18 short months ago, pilots chasing an airline job had a nearly bottomless well of opportunities to draw from. Industry experts compared the scarcity of experienced cockpit crewmembers to the 1960s—when the major airlines were so needy, they actually subsidized pilot training. As 2019 drew to a close, it was fairly common for regional […]

The 350 pilots and other employees of St. Louis-based Trans States Airlines have been on the edge of their seats following announcements last year, such as the cancellation of the company’s order for 50 Mitsubishi regional jets because of scope-clause concerns, or that sister company Compass Airlines last year lost a major contract for flying […]

As the fall semester gears up at Kent State University’s College of Aeronautics and Engineering, new announcements are making 2019 one of the most “momentous times” in the history of the school’s aviation programs. The university recently opened their new FedEx Aeronautics Academic Center, a 17,800-square-foot training facility located at the Kent State University Airport […]

The Air Force and its auxiliary, the Civil Air Patrol, are testing a new approach to help tackle the service’s pilot shortage. The Pilot Prep Program (PPP) will prepare 52 airmen from 38 installations across the globe for the Air Force’s fiscal 2020 undergraduate flight training selection board this fall. Pentagon Aircrew Crisis Task Force […]

For years, any talk of a pilot shortage always included the caveat that the warning didn’t apply to the major airlines. Southwest Airlines is taking no chances. The nation’s largest domestic passenger carrier recently announced a career program called Destination 225° to create pathways for qualified pilots to become future Southwest first officers. The airline […]

Pete Daniels flies Boeing 787s for one of the world’s largest airlines. He makes $380,000 a year and works an average of nine days per month. He has been flying commercially for more than 30 years. He is one of scores of airline pilots who will reach the FAA’s mandatory retirement age, 65, within the […]

Much has been written about the mounting pilot shortage, with even critical operators such as firefighters being forced to park some of their planes since there were no qualified pilots to take the controls. The latest victim of that issue is southern California’s California Pacific Airlines. “We have temporarily suspended our Carlsbad flights and ticket […]

Like many other segments of the aviation industry, the U.S. Air Force is trying to wrap its arms around a pilot shortage that continues despite the significant amounts of cash the branch has been tossing into the payroll kitty for current pilots. The Air Force says the current shortage stands at 2,000 pilots, but expects […]

U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson recently told a Senate Armed Services readiness and management support subcommittee that the branch trained 1,160 new pilots in fiscal 2017, and expects to train 1,311 in fiscal 2019, before expanding further. The Air Force wants to train 1,500 new pilots each year by fiscal 2022 as part of […]