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Maxwell Johnson

Simon Workman

ENG 1201-107

8th May 2022

Rogerian Argument: Why is there an airline pilot shortage?

Commercial aviation is the connective tissue which allows travelers to transverse the

globe. Airlines and airlines pilot are at the forefront of these organizations, serving as guides in

showing us that the farthest reaches of the globe aren’t quite so far. However, what happens

when as traveler’s that privilege to travel becomes hindered? Trips to your favorite destinations

become increasingly expensive, some cites don’t even receive airline service anymore. From the

prospective of the airline, rising costs, intense competition for a small and dwindling pool of

qualified candidates, and a pandemic having only increased the stakes that are present within the

dynamic and volatile travel industry.

In the past decade this small but noticeable change in the landscape of commercial

aviation has been present and ever growing. Consumers and industry experts alike can agree and

come to the simple conclusion that an airline pilot shortage is present and is ever growing. But

as to what is the cause of the airline pilot shortage and how to mitigate is where experts and

professionals alike seem to diverge from the dogma. Experts cite that once a cause is identified a

proper relief plan can be implemented allowing for a return to accessible travel for everyone.

Additionally, a proper relief plan put in place would alleviate the tension and stress on an already

dynamic and violate industry and allow for airlines to have longer relief and protect future

growth along with shareholder interest thus promoting investment in commercial airlines. This

investment would allow for economic impacts that could last for years to come.
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Some aviation experts and airline personal cite the Federal Aviation Administration

(FAA) minimum flight experience time increase requirement from 250 hours to 1500 hours

flight time as the initial event, that has created the domino effect of the airline pilot shortage.

They cite the Colgan Air Flight 3407 accident and its aftermath as the event that changed

commercial aviation forever.

On February 12th, 2009 a Bombardier Q400 aircraft, regional airline commuter entered

an aerodynamic stall from which it did not recover, and crashed into a house in Clarence Center,

New York. This result of the crash investigation from the National Transportation Safety Board

found that the pilots of the aircraft due to lack of rest and proper experience were found at fault

in the aircraft accident. This finding caused congress and the FAA alike to create new legislation

proposing a change to the time experience requirements become an airline pilot. “In very simple

terms, the new FAA 1500-hour rule specifies that before a pilot can be granted an Airline

Transport Pilot License, they must accrue 1500 hours total flight time.” Whereas previously,

“Before the introduction of the 1500-hour rule, first officers were only required to be a

commercial license holder, which only required a minimum of 250 hours to attain.” (Smith-

Kohls)

This basic change now poses a threat to the airline industry and to pilots alike, 1250

hours is years of flight time to build prior to entering the job market and the travel industry is not

stopping. With these facts in mind the possible birth of a pilot shortage begins to become clear in

several experts’ opinions. The 1500-hour rule’s impact on flight training, airline invectives and

training culture has led to a need for airline pilots unlike ever before.

2019 saw increased levels of travel unlike ever before. “U.S. domestic travel increased

1.7% in 2019 to a total of 2.3 billion person-trips.” (us travel weekly 2020) During the
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enlightened travel of 2019 regional and major airlines alike saw an increase in hiring and pay to

their employees to provide incentive to employee recruitment and employee retainment. The big

three major commercial air carriers in the United States, American, Delta and United saw

unprecedented levels of growth and profit earing for shareholders. However, this was very

shortly all about to change. March 15, 2020. New York along with several other states began to

shut down and lockdown their states to prevent the further grow and spread of the Covid-19

pandemic. Little did industry experts and airline personnel alike realize the grander impacts the

Covid-19 pandemic would have on the aviation industry and the airline pilot shortage.

The Covid-19 pandemic impacted the airline industry by accelerating senior employee

retirements, forcing employee furloughs and creating a gap in airline seniority lists that regional

airline pay and cadet pilot program incentives can’t address.

Once the pandemic hit airlines were forced with the hard reality that people traveling

would cease at lease for a while. This prompted airline to seek government bailouts. In addition,

it encouraged airlines to make the decision to suggest early retirement packages to its senior

employees. This early retirement allowed for airlines to cut down on costs of senior employee’s

expensive salaries and allow for less operational overhead. This in turn also caused a gap at the

top of the employee seniority list allowing for progression for employees already in existence at

the organization. However, as the pandemic continued on airlines were forced to issues furloughs

to employees. These furloughs hit mid to junior level employees. Some that received these

furloughs decided that based on the instability of the industry they would not return to be an

airline pilot. Thus, a further hole was created in the company’s seniority list now on the junior

and mid-level employee side. These gaps in seniority lists once travel resumed forced airlines to

compete for the dwindling pool of candidates unlike it ever has before.
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The solution was to increase incentives to pilot’s who joined the company early through

an airline cadet pilot program. But, despite the increasing value of pay and bonuses regional and

major airlines can’t seem to plug the holes fast enough. This leads to canceled flights, canceled

routes, and ultimately the closing and or bankruptcy of airlines Compass and Express Jet are a

few examples of airlines that did not make it through the Covid-19 pandemic mentioned for the

reasons above. The Covid-19 pandemic effected the commercial aviation industry unlike ever

before and its effects can still be felt as airline scramble to recover and bring back travel to a

world of passengers that is dying to explore the world, they lost for the last two years.

Often the most intense and time sensitive issues are the ones that are often more complex

than what meets the eye. This is the case with the airline pilot shortage. Such along standing and

complicated issue can not simply be explained by once cause by rather a multiple of causes

collapsed on each other. The glaring long standing bottle necking of the training process for

becoming an airline pilot had been happening from early 2012. The delay in the training pipeline

caused the FAA to change the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots from 60 to 65. Add on

top of a dwelling pool of qualified pilots to an illness pandemic and company furloughs and you

have one absolute mess. This is the reality of what major and regional airlines find themselves

faced with. In simpler terms an issue as large as the airline pilot shortage can’t simply have just

once cause and one means to remedy it. It is rather a host of causes and plans that together can

work to elevate the cooperate juggernauts that allow us as travelers to transverse the globe. This

comes from addressing multiple of the causes stated and creating a relief plan addresses multiple

needs and concerns for each level of experience pilot.

One of the creations to come from the covid pandemic and the 1500-hour rule for airline

transport pilot experiences requirements has been the creation of airline owned and operated
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flight schools. These flight schools operate with the solely purpose to allow the student a

structured and simplified path to achieve their basic aviation licenses prior to joining an airline

under the structure and expertise of an airline. They also in addition allow for them to enter the

pipeline for scholarships and job opportunities at that airline sooner. Candidates are accepted on

an interviewed basis since the airline is investing heavily in each candidate’s future with that

organization. Overall this promotion allows for a quicker and more structured training process

for the student with a connection and guidance of an airline at a younger age.

Airlines are also currently seeking relief from the accelerated effects of the airline pilot

shortage created by the covid – 19 pandemic. Proposals have been put in place to bring

legislation before congress to reduce further the experience requirements for the airline transport

pilot certificate. However, congress is set to deny these requests.

The solution, to propose that a further reduction in time experience requirements is

needed to ensure staffing and continued operation of regional and major airlines with the added

stipulation that such reduction in experience only comes from being trained at an approved

airline flight school with proper certification. This would address the concerns of both the covid

pandemic and the 1500 hour rule requirement and would help to remedy part of problem of the

airline pilot shortage but creating a shorter and direct pipeline that can cut down training costs

and motivate the next generation of aviators to take to the skies safety and within a realistic

window that would benefit both the traveler and the industry as a whole.
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Works Cited

Silk, Robert. “In Face of Renewed Pilot Shortage, Key Lawmaker Stands behind 1,500-

Hour

Rule.” Travel Weekly, Travel Weekly, 30 Sept. 2021,

https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel News/Airline-News/Regional-carriers-want-relief-from-

1500-hour-rule.

“Regional Airlines Call for Change Regarding 1,500-Hour Rule.” AeroGuard, 4 Oct.

2021, https://www.flyaeroguard.com/blog/regional-airlines-call-for-change-regarding-1500-

hour-rule/.

Smith-Kohls, Tamu, et al. “What Exactly Is the FAA 1500 Hour Rule? - Cal Aero

University.” CAU, 16 Feb. 2022, https://calaero.edu/faa-1500-hour-rule/.

Mark, Rob, et al. “Is a Change to the 1,500-Hour Pilot Rule in the Offing?” FLYING

Magazine, 9 Nov. 2021, https://www.flyingmag.com/is-change-to-1500-hour-pilot-rule-in-

offing/.

Pallini, Thomas. “US Airlines Are Combating the Pilot Shortage by Raising Pay,

Lowering Requirements, and Hiring from Australia.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 17 Jan.

2022, https://www.businessinsider.com/airlines-respond-to-pilot-shortage-higher-pay-lower-

requirements-2022-1.