Leveling the Global Aviation Playing Field

The aviation industry has been around for a century, between airlines, corporate, cargo, and charter services, it has thrived for quite a long time. Throughout the years though, there have been many things that have threatened aeronautical commerce including high fuel prices, cheap labor, and the public perception of aviation. Today, we face many of the same risks, fuel prices are through the roof, pilot pay keeps getting cut and the view of aviation by the public degrades every time a plane crashes. "When jet-fuel prices rise rapidly, airlines have limited options to mitigate these costs, principally generating more revenue or decreasing nonfuel expenses. As fuel prices increase, flights become less profitable so airlines may also reduce capacity, and some carriers already have reported downward growth plans. (Heimlich, n.d.)" This is a real problem that faces our industry, if airlines have to cut routes to remain profitable, then it won’t be long until they will go bankrupt or continue to merge and get bought out by larger airlines. This will happen until there are only a few airlines left that will have complete control on the industry. This only accounts for the airlines, corporate divisions, charter operations, cargo and general aviation all suffer every time fuel prices raise. Today more than ever, there are less and less people flying their own aircraft because they simply cannot afford to fly them due to the high cost of avgas. Corporations are cutting down or even eliminating their aviation divisions for this same reason, without corporate jets flying in to pay landing fees and buying jet fuel, local general aviation airports will no longer bring in enough money to support themselves or the community.

            Another hazard to aviation is the fact that young pilots trying to get their foot in the door are desperate to build flight time. When a hopeful airline pilot gets offered a job to fly jet aircraft for a regional airline, he doesn’t care how little he will get paid, the only thing on his mind is the experience he will build. This is not a good thing due to the fact that pilots will underbid each other just to get ahead in their career, after a while, they will get paid so little that they will be unable to pay bills let alone for their student loans that they took out to finance their flight training. “Recent salary records show that a rookie first officer on a regional airline flying out of San Francisco International Airport may be paid less than the worker who washes the airport’s windows. (Finck & Breuner, 2011)” This is ridiculous, the fact that low time pilots have gone this low on the pay scale while the cost of flight training is so astronomically high is insane. A high school student looking towards his or her future will look at the cost of flight education, which is around $100,000, and then look up their future salary as a regional airline pilot, which is right around $20,000 for first year pay, and make up their mind that it is just too much money to even think about flying for a living. Unless they are madly in love with flying, they will write off the possibility of ever flying for a living and choose another career path. I know this because I did this as a high school student; I started my first year of college thinking that I was going to be a mechanical engineer technician but because of my job at the local airport, I found my true passion to be in aviation and I have since then worked my butt off to get through flight training. Airline companies know this and use it against their employees, they know we will never want to quit flying, that we will eat noodles every day just to have a job flying. But after enough years of this, there will be no more kids looking up towards the sky wanting to fly because they were never introduced to it by their parents because they couldn’t afford the fuel for the plane let alone to buy an aircraft.

            From here we move to the public perception of aviation, every time a car crashes, little is said but a quick 10 second story on the 5pm news. But the second a plane crashes, no matter how small or insignificant, it is blasted onto the national news. Last year in Monroe County Michigan, a light sport airplane was on approach to a private grass strip when the pilot got low on approach and clipped the power lines that paralleled the road. This is a quote from one of the reports on the crash, “Sgt. Jeff Kemp said in a release that both men suffered minor injuries and were taken by ambulance to Mercy Memorial Hospital as a precautionary measure. (Oosting, 2012)” This proves that even though they both had only minor injuries the media has to blast the story way out of proportion because there was a video of it and plane crashes are sensational. This and countless other stories like it have shed a lot of bad light on the aviation industry. Every time I get onto an airliner, during the takeoff sequence, everyone in the cabin closes their eyes and puts their heads down in fear of their possible demise. I find it very interesting that statistically they have a much greater chance of being killed on their way to the airport in their own car then during the flight, yet they fear for their lives every time they fly. This is due to a few factors, but the biggest is the fact that the media shows flying as a dangerous medium of travel because of its sensationalism whenever something does go wrong. Another is the fact that whenever an airliner crashes, many people die, but whenever a car crashes, only a few may perish. “In absolute numbers, driving is more dangerous, with more than 5 million accidents compared to 20 accidents in flying. A more direct comparison per 100 million miles pits driving's 1.27 fatalities and 80 injuries against flying's lack of deaths and almost no injuries, which again shows air travel to be safer. (Locsin, n.d.)” This is horrible for the aviation community, if a child is brought up to fear flying, then how are we going to recruit them to fly for a living? The public perception of danger in aviation is just adding to the pilot shortage because of this.

Finck, K., & Breuner, B. (2011, September 1). Pilots can earn less than airport window washers. California Watch. Retrieved September 29, 2013, from http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/pilots-can-earn-less-airport-window-washers-12398

Heimlich, J. (n.d.).  The Price of Jet Fuel and Its Impact on U.S. Airlines. The Price of Jet Fuel and Its Impact on U.S. Airlines. Retrieved September 29, 2013, from http://www.airlines.org/Pages/The-Price-of-Jet-Fuel-and-Its-Impact-on-U.S.-Airlines.aspx

Locsin, A. (n.d.). Is Air Travel Safer Than Car Travel? Travel Tips. Retrieved September 29, 2013, from http://traveltips.usatoday.com/air-travel-safer-car-travel-1581.html

Oosting, J. (2012, August 13). Video: Passenger records plane crash, frantic aftermath in Monroe County. MLive.com. Retrieved September 29, 2013, from http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/08/video_passenger_records_plane.html

The Looming Pilot Shortage: Reality . . . or Not?

            There are many reasons that people in the industry are saying there will be a catastrophic pilot shortage. One being the fact that many older pilots that got their retirement extended from the age of 60 to age 65 are beginning to retire now. "Major airlines, including Delta and United, are beginning to hire pilots for the first time in several years, and they will look to the upper ranks of regional airlines to fill a large number of the positions. (Schaal, 2013)" This will force them to pull pilots up from regional airlines to fill those seats. After losing much of their workforce, the regional airlines, who are now dealing with new regulation that requires higher minimums to hire new first officers, will need to recruit more pilots from flight schools around the country. According to some, this demand of fresh pilots will develop into a full blown pilot shortage that will rock the industry. To a pilot earning new ratings and building flight time at a flight school, a pilot shortage is music to their ears. This means that when they meet the qualifications, they will be swept up immediately by a regional airline that is lucky to have them. This however seemingly excellent situation may actually prove to be a harmful turn for pilots. If the airlines are unable to recruit enough pilots to fill their slots, they will be forced to either buy bigger planes or even cut routes in order to reduce their demand for pilots. "We've already heard of a few airlines that have either reduced their operations or even grounded their airplanes because they don't have enough people to fly them. ("Pilot shortage in Asia - PPRuNe Forums," 2011)" In the end, this may reduce the need for pilots across the entire industry, this is one possible drawback to this pilot shortage. I personally think that we will have a pilot shortage, but I do not believe it will have this detrimental effect on pilots. I think that we will have a great opportunity as commercial pilots moving up towards the airlines, when we meet the legal minimums, we will have our pick of whatever regional airline we want.

            Another cause of this pilot shortage is of an international nature, many Asian countries are currently going through a type of industrial revolution. "The rising middle class in China means millions more people are taking to the skies. Beijing plans soon to allow even more growth in its tightly controlled sector by encouraging the development of budget airlines, which are already booming across Asia. (NG, 2013)" This means that there are many citizens that will be wanting to travel with their new found wealth on airlines. "The largest projected growth in pilot demand is in the Asia Pacific region, with a requirement for 192,300 new pilots over the next 20 years. ("Long-Term Market," n.d.) " This new demand for pilots in the region will require Asian airlines to hire a lot of pilots that they do not have. If they cannot hire enough pilots from their own countries, they will have to hire American pilots to fulfill these positions. I believe that this will lead to a few changes in the industry, the Asian airlines will offer great deals to persuade American pilots to fly for them which will consecutively create an even bigger pilot shortage in America. This should in turn force Airlines in the United States to compete with Asian airline pay rates which should greatly increase with the need for more pilots.

           

Long-Term Market. (n.d.). Boeing: Pilot & Technician Outlook. Retrieved September 22, 2013, from http://www.boeing.com/boeing/commercial/cmo/pilot_technician_outlook.page

NG, J. (2013, August 23). Chinese Airlines Lure Pilots With Double the Pay of U.S. Captains; Carriers Boost Salaries to Hire Seasoned Crews, Causing Shortage Across Asia. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 22, 2013, from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323455104579012194041354578.html

Pilot shortage in Asia - PPRuNe Forums. (2011, December 1). Business Insider. Retrieved September 21, 2013, from http://www.businessinsider.com/asian-pilot-shortage-2011-12

Schaal, D. (2013, August 29). Regional Airlines’ Pilot Shortage is Heading Toward the Perfect Storm. Skift. Retrieved September 21, 2013, from http://skift.com/2013/08/29/regional-airlines-pilot-shortage-is-heading-toward-the-perfect-storm/

Pilot Certification and Qualification Requirements for Air Carrier Operations

            As we have recently found out, the FAA has issued the final ruling on the Pilot Certification and Qualification Requirements for Air Carrier Operations here. After Congress mandated the FAA to make a change to the then current requirements for First Officers, everyone in the industry knew they would require ATP certificates for all crew members in the cockpit. This news was a shock to the aviation community; how would someone be able to pay for flight training and be able to get enough flight time to meet the stringent requirements of the Airline Transport Pilot certificate? The FAA responded with a promise to have a Restricted ATP for applicants that graduated with a four year degree in aviation. They stated that the hour requirements would be reduced and said nothing else except the fact that they would have to be a graduate of an accredited four year program. Now, the ruling has come out, and of course, as the federal government always does, they have messed it up.

            First of all, the Federal Aviation Administration released the final ruling mere weeks before it was to take effect. For a ruling of this size that would affect so many people, they should have given at least a year before implementing any changes. Congress gave the FAA until the 1st of August of this year to put into operation these amendments, therefore I am not suggesting that the FAA should have postponed the execution of the final ruling until a year from now, but I am saying that they should have published the final ruling a year ago. That would have given flight schools and the students enrolled in flight schools a chance to plan ahead for the future. To release the final ruling just before it is to take effect is absurd.

            Another point is that the FAA failed to give a full picture of this restricted ATP until the final ruling was published. Up until the final ruling, it was thought that the only requirement to fall under this new restricted ATP was to be a graduate of an accredited four year institution. Now we finally have the full picture; there are many levels to the restricted ATP. I will not get into all of them but know that there are other situations in which one could get a restricted ATP at other minimums other than the one I am about to discuss. If one was to graduate from an accredited four year university with a bachelor's in some sort of aviation flight major and graduate from 141 instrument and commercial courses while doing their flight training, then they would only need 1000 hours total time and 200 hours cross country flight time. This is a great alternative to the normal ATP which requires 1500 hours total time and 500 hours cross country. Although this was a step in the right direction, the FAA failed to advise student pilots ahead of time to get their licenses under a 141 flight school. This leaves a set of pilots that have already gotten their ratings under part 61 instead of 141 because they never thought that it would benefit them to go the 141 route. If they knew ahead of time that this would one day be a factor, then they surely would have gone the 141 route. Unfortunately for me, I am one of these pilots; I am certified to teach commercial pilots under 141 curriculum, yet because I myself did not train commercial under a 141 syllabus, I do not qualify under the 1000 hour rule. If the FAA had published the final ruling a little over a year ago, I could have switched to a 141 course for my commercial rating and qualified. This is because I already did my instrument rating under 141.

            Ultimately, the lack of a final decision with enough time for adjustment in the industry and the fact that the FAA decided out of the blue to require pilots to complete a 141 course for both instrument on commercial certificates is ill-advised. By doing this, they have failed a large group of pilots that have not yet gotten into the airlines but already have their commercial licenses. Although I believe this is a ridiculous oversight by the FAA, there is some consolation for this group of pilots.

            If one does not qualify for this part of the (R)ATP, then they can still benefit from it. Anyone, without any requirements as far as graduating with an aviation degree or from a 141 flight program can qualify for a (R)ATP with1500 hours, but with only 200 cross country hours instead of 500. This is a sufficient alternative to flight instructors who build very little cross country time when training applicants in a local environment. When instructing, one stays mostly in the pattern at a local airport or one instructs in a practice area to perform maneuvers with the student, this is almost always accomplished within the 50 nautical mile radius in which a cross country flight is usually defined. The only chance a flight instructor gets to build cross country flight time is when he/she has to go with a student to demonstrate how to fly a cross country flight without getting lost. This is minimal time when looked at in a big picture; with one student, an instructor may only build two hours of flight time, while they have 30-40 hours of instruction locally. Basically, if a pilot builds time to get to the airlines by instructing, it would take well over 2000 hours total time to get the 500 hours cross country time. 

            In the end, I believe that this whole requirement is part of a knee-jerk reaction by Congress after the Colgan Air crash in Buffalo, New York. Also, I believe that the FAA could have implemented the regulation in a more logical fashion. In the end, most pilots will overcome this new obstacle because they will conform to the new training requirements and get into the airlines in a reasonable time. It will just be more difficult for the rest of us instructors to accept the fact that the very same commercial pilots that we are currently training under part 141 may, in fact, get hired by an airline before us.

Introduction

Hello,

            My name is Scott Lange. A little about my past, I grew up on a small farm outside of Maybee, MI throwing hay bales and shoveling cow maneuver for nothing more than three meals a day, a place to sleep, and a good education. Although baling hay in the summer heat and feeding cattle in the winter cold was back breaking work, farming definitely had its perks. When we did have time to play, my brother and I always found ways to have fun. With vast open spaces, the only thing to do that made sense was to run anything with a motor on it for amusement. Snowmobiling, four-wheeling, dirt-biking, off-roading, drag racing, lawn tractor pulling, if you name it, we drove it. In doing so, we both become motor heads; although my brother has since become a mechanical engineer, I have found my home in aviation.

            When I was still in grade school, I was introduced to flying by my neighbor who had a Cherokee Six. He let me sit in the right seat and fly over my house at 150mph, I was hooked! I subscribed to flying magazine and instantly became a wing nut. Our farm also just happened to be under the final approach course for runway 4L into Detroit Metro Airport. As I watched those airliners line up five at a time on the ILS in a perfect line while I worked in the field, I couldn't help myself from dreaming. I made up my mind that I wanted to fly for the airlines some day.

            As high school came around and college advisors started compelling me to think of my future, I looked into the possibility of flying for a living. As many have, I quickly got a reality check as to how much flight training would cost. I eventually wrote off the possibility completely by telling myself that it would cost too much to fly.

             I started my first semester of community college taking basic classes while working at Monroe Custer Airport to pay bills. Every week I would fuel planes for pilots that flew in from around the country, watching them land with smiles on their faces. I was amazed at how easy it looked to just go up on a flight, it was like second nature to these people. As six months of working at the airport passed by I realized I would never be happy if  I never attempted to fly.

            In March of 2010 I started flight training in a Cessna 150 in Monroe, paying for it with every extra dollar I could manage from a $9 an hour job. It was a struggle, but less than a year later I achieved my private pilot certificate. Since then I have started flight training at Eagle Flight Center and have attained my Certified Flight Instructor certificate, just recently starting training student pilots at the flight center. I plan on working toward more ratings and instructing until I have accomplished my goal of flying for an airline. I know it will be a long road, but I accept the challenge.