AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2018 - 82

competitive the market has
become-for the airlines. He
received a phone call to schedule an interview mere hours
after submitting his résumé.
The next call was a phone
interview, and many pilots are
hired soon after a few other
screenings. "The floodgates
are open to the major airlines
right now," he said.
Despite the persistent talk
of wage growth being a key
factor for increasing regional
airline recruitment, none of
the pilots we spoke to for this
story listed pay as a primary
consideration in choosing
their airline. Karg didn't know
exactly what she was going to
be paid, and Schoephoerster
said it was simply enough to
pay his bills. So long as the pay
was livable and fair, the most
important for each was quality
of life and upgrade time.
Karg wanted to be close to
home, and although she'll have
to commute to either Detroit or
Minneapolis for a few months,
her home base of Phoenix
should be available soon. Jim
should be based at home soon,
and Schoephoerster said he
had no interest in the crashpad life The draw of being
close to home is so big for each
that even a quick path to the
major airlines was less important than base selection.
Staying close to home and
avoiding a commute can be
a good decision, especially

117,000 New pilots

who will be required in
North America over the
next 20 years, according
to Boeing
82 | AOPA PILOT July 2018

WHAT ABOUT CORPORATE?
When companies compete, you win

By some estimates the airlines are hiring more pilots today
than are being generated through career-track programs.
And that means poaching.
Despite good money, incredible equipment, and the
prospect of living close to home, many corporate flight
departments and charter operators are struggling to find
pilots. Jim is a prime example. The gig he landed flying
right seat in a G-IV was his first professional flying job,
something that would have been unheard of just a few
years ago. One charter company in Maryland has taken
the airline model and is offering $80,000 recruitment and
retention bonuses for pilots to fly Embraer Phenom 300s.
If corporate flight departments are hurting so badly
it makes sense that flight schools are feeling the pain the
most. The Government Accountability Office recently
released a report that said 16 of 18 collegiate aviation programs interviewed noted a lack of qualified flight instructors as their biggest challenge. The industry is quickly
hurtling toward a perfect storm where the airlines need
more pilots, so they take CFIs, and their need for pilots
creates a need to train more people off the street, which
requires...more CFIs.
-IJT

50.6 Average age of

ATP-certificated pilots,
up from 46.6 in 2002
for those with a family. Often
requiring an additional period
of time at the front and back
of a trip, commuting also
relies on airlines having available seats, something that has
become harder to find in recent
years. Smith said load factors
have gone from 55 percent to
85 percent over the past 40
years, making the bet of finding an open seat that much
more risky.
For the airlines to remain
solvent and retain the ability
to serve smaller communities,
they will have to increase pay
and benefits, as well as support
the development of training. If
the makeup of Jim's class is any
indication, airlines will draw
from several sources, including

active general aviation pilots.
"It's a very eclectic bunch in
these classes right now," he
said. "There are young CFIs,
but also charter captains and
pilots from other airlines making a lateral move."
Airline members of the
Regional Airline Association
are most at risk. By their estimate, nearly three-quarters of
their aircraft could be without crews within the next eight
years if the population of professional pilots doesn't grow.
The group's president, Faye
Malarkey Black, thinks her
members have been on the
"leading edge" of partnerships
with universities to provide a
clear path to the cockpit, but
that the challenge is simply too

AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2018

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