Professionalism in the Aviation Industry

Flying Cheap- Professionalism in the Aviation Industry

     The so called "pilot shortage" is almost upon on. According to a study by the University of North Dakota, "That looming pilot deficit will soar to 15,000 by 2026  as more captains reach the mandatory retirement age of 65 and fewer young people choose commercial aviation as a profession." (Sasso, 2016) With such a drastic shortage looming over the industry, some look to find out what is the reason behind this issue. There are two reasons people believe why such a drastic shortage is going on.
     The first reason is due to pilot pay. Yes captain's of major airlines can make well over hundreds of thousands of dollars, but his wont happen until the pilot is well established in their career. "the Air Line Pilots Association estimates that the average starting salary is even lower than that — $22,500 per year, which for a 40-hour work week equals an hourly rate of $10.75." (Zillman, 2014)
     The other side of the argument is older pilots are hitting the mandatory retiring age. "aircraft manufacturer Boeing predicts a need for 112,000 new pilots in North America—and 617,000 worldwide—over the next 20 years. The report also predicts a growing need for aircraft mechanics and cabin crew." (Orr, 2016) over a hundred thousand people are need within the next 20 years is staggering. Too many pilots are leaving the industry, and too little pilots are flowing into it.
     The reason I believe no new pilots want to enter the industry is due to the very low salary starting at a regional. Student loans almost seem impossible to avoid this day in age. From experience, I have witnessed  first hand how expensive flight school can become. Knowing that I get paid so little starting off, it will make me wonder if I will even be able to eat with the amount of debt I would have to pay off after graduation. Many people just don't see incentive to accumulate so much debt, live on a fairly low wage for an extended period of time, and just wait until the expected wage of a pilot comes around ten years later. More incentives need to be made in order to help pilots want to join the industry. If not, many aviation businesses may end up seeing their doors close.
     The regionals have a legitimate concern with the hiring pool. "the heightened training rules imposed in 2013 following the investigation into the Colgan Air crash" (Orr, 2016) Before the Colgan crash, pilots could go from flight schools to a first officer at a regional at 250 hours. After this accident however, pilot's much now have at least 1,500 hours of flight time before going to the airlines.This causes a lot of back up and a lot of time waiting for a large group of pilots to get all of their training done. When pilots get all that training done, which is a small number, every regional airline now has to pick from the same pool. It also come to the issue that pilots are leaving the regionals for the majors much faster than pilots are entering. This difference in the input/output causes more stress for regional airlines to try and find pilots to fill these seats.
     There are already some resolutions to the small hiring pool. The FAA allows for certain acceptions to the "1,500 hour" rule. For example, our flight school at Eastern Michigan just approved as a part 141 flight program. This allows for our hour requirement to go from 1,500 to 1,000 hours. This is huge because it will allow for many students to get industry experience much earlier in their career. Airlines are also trying to step up as well. "Endeavor Air, a subsidiary of Delta, currently advertises a first-year salary of $50,000 for first officers." (Orr, 2016) This major raise in pay is huge to pilots who are just entering the industry. This allows more support to combat student loan payments. It almost acts like a light at the end of the tunnel. You are able to get a fairly decent wage just a few years after graduating. It will help encourage pilots that student loans aren't so bad. It also will help get a glimpse of watch actual aviation wages may seem like.
     Just as the ALPA represents regional pilots, there are other organizations that represent other parts of the industry as well. For example, the General Aviation Manufacturer Association (GAMA), exists to foster and advance the general welfare, safety, interests, and activities of the global business and general aviation industry." (GAMA, N.D.) There is also a portion that is in charge of management as well called, the GSA. Their purpose is,"to collect, analyze, and report information on the inventory, cost, usage, and safety of Government aircraft" (GSA, N.D.) 

     Professionalism, in my own words,  is the skills expected from a given individual during their shift. It also means conducting certain business practices in a proper and timely manner. 
     There were two major events that showed lack of professionalism during the Colgan crash. The first one being breaking sterile cockpit. There was a lot of impertinent conversation about how the first officer was very under the weather. This distracted both pilots which lead to work overload once an emergency in the air occurred. The second would be that the first officer commuted all night to get to her departing aircraft. Any pilot knows you need a adequate amount of rest to be able to focus on simple tasks. The first officer was very fatigued and should not have gone flying.
     I do feel that the structure of regional pay could have been a leading cause of the Colgan accident. The first officer was recorded on the blackbox saying that she couldn't miss a day of flying because the money meant so much to her. It's sad that pilots at this time were living paycheck to paycheck. If regionals did offer more benefits, or were able to offer higher wages, pilots who know they shouldn't fly may be more apt to taking the day off.
     There can be a number of ways someone can expand their professionalism in their given field of work. Myself, I would like to think being more proactive with tasks would be a start. After completing my instrument rating, i realized how easy it is to fall behind the aircraft. If I were more proactive, it would help lower my workload during critical phases of flight. Once, stepping into an airplane carrying more lives than my own, i believe that could help my professionalism as well. Rather than just flying around with myself in a Cessna, I will be in charge of making sure civilians get from to there destination safely. Knowing that I am in charge of keeping others safe will help me become more professional.

SOURCES:
Aviation Management Policy Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2016, from http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104520

GAMA. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2016, from https://www.gama.aero/

Orr, S. (2016, September 3). Retirements, stiffer training requirements fuel pilot shortage. Retrieved September 30, 2016, from http://www.ibj.com/articles/60177-retirements-stiffer-training-requirements-fuel-pilot-shortage

Sasso, M. (2016, July 29). Shrinking Pool of Future Pilots Keeps Major Airlines on Edge. Retrieved September 30, 2016, from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-29/shrinking-pool-of-future-pilots-keeps-major-airlines-on-edge

Zillman, C. (2014). Why airlines are running out of pilots. Retrieved September 30, 2016, from http://fortune.com/2014/03/03/why-airlines-are-running-out-of-pilots/