Being Priced Out of a Dream...

Aviation as an industry is a wonderful one. However, it is one that can benefit of some changes. Hiring pilots is one aspect that should change.

Before, airlines hired pilots from the military. Very few had the money, time, or qualifications to get into the airlines as a civilian. But, either way, pilots went into the airlines and were practically guaranteed a gravy train. However, with the coming of deregulation, the playing field was transforming. Airlines were no longer as stable. Managers were looking out for their wallets and lowering prices for the customers at the expense of their employees and operations. However, GA was still there. People were becoming pilots. And more and more civilian pilots were getting into the airlines. But aircraft rental costs continued to rise.

Airlines began hiring more and more civilian pilots, because they were performing just as well as their military counterparts in training and on the field.

Military pilots noticed the growing instability of the airlines. Surges in hiring, and waves of furloughs, as well as dwindling pay, were all factors in why fewer and fewer military pilots are getting into the airlines. They would, in essence, be taking a pay CUT, rather than a raise (military officers get their regular pay, and with flying aircraft, are also given hazard pay, in addition to free flight training). Why bother with the airlines, and worry about furloughs and concessions, when they can have a steady career in the military?

Civilian pilots see the Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) license as the doctorate of the sky. And to a certain extent it is. You have hours, and you have experience. And this license allows you to operate at a higher level, the airline level. It is the license of the true professional pilot. And the glamour, and pay, and all the perks that it came with. However, all those things dwindled, and continue to dwindle. Look at what regional airline pilots are making.

Express carriers, like US Airways Group’s (USAG) own Piedmont Airlines and PSA Airlines, have either furloughed mainline pilots, or new-hire pilots, possibly at their first airline, getting time, benefits, and not much else. And what is it that they had to do to get there?

Many of the regional airline pilots are folks who trained in small aircraft. They moved up to larger aircraft on their own, out of their own pocket. And along with an aviation degree, they were formidable candidates for the right seat.

And that’s all good and fine, but the thing is this: a low-time pilot is well-trained, but is still a low-time pilot. A low-time pilot does not have the experience that a captain would have. Not that s/he would, but it’s the amount of time that new-hire pilots into regional carriers have that is frightening. Some of these young first officers quickly become captains because of attrition, pilots senior to them being scooped away by larger carriers who offer more pay, and larger, more complex aircraft to fly. This causes an issue to emerge. How much time should a captain have? An arbitrary numerical limit is not the answer, but aptitude, knowledge, and downright stick-and-rudder skills is what makes the captain, and there is no way that this can be attained in a very small amount of time, flying the aircraft half the time.

But I digress…the issue here is the journey to the right seat in the first place. I have met pilots who fly for express carriers who have paid out more than $125,000 in student loans to get the right seat of a jet. Does it have to be this way? I don’t think so.

Pricing out anyone who wants to fulfill a lifelong dream and become an airline pilot is not fair, competitive, equitable, or even moral. I know of some people who would have given just about anything to become a pilot, only to get discouraged at seeing the bill, and relegating to land-based work with their hearts in the sky, aching to fly. That is no way to live! Absolutely not!

Europe’s airlines have seen a great influx of people who want to become pilots. What do they do? They model the airline training and hiring process to that of the military. They have aptitude tests, medical tests, knowledge tests, and more. After that, they train you to fly their airplanes. They train you the AIRLINE way. They train and test you from small aircraft, and growing in size to turboprop to jet aircraft. The European cadet system is a perfect system that should be adopted by airlines in the US.

My proposal is a one-up from that. First, consider only private pilots who can pass a Class I medical certificate with the desire to fly commercially, and have a degree from an aviation college. Receive a small pay (room and board is covered by the airline), with deductions for training for the first 5 years of your career with the airline to pay off your tuition. If you wash out, you flip the bill. This will increase the competition to get into the airlines, and will weed out any stragglers.

Now, I know that there are some who feel that this system is flawed, and I can see your understanding behind this process. However, if you truly love flying as I do, you would also behold the opportunity to fight for what you love, fight to fly, as I do every day. Nobody should be priced out of their dream. There is nothing more wrong, on all levels, than creating and fuelling an environment that success is attained by the amount of money one can throw at a situation. Ask any airline pilot. Going into debt just to fly isn’t worth it. Want just one factor? You will not see a return of investment for another 10 to 15 years after graduating, for one. And secondly, that is IF you don't get furloughed.