USA: Aviation will have to deal with pilot retirements – 04/23/2023 – Market

The US airline industry faces a “pilot retirement tsunami” over the next 15 years, which will exacerbate the nation’s shortage of airmen and directly impact passenger flight availability and airfares, said Faye Malarkey Black, president and CEO. of the Regional Association of Airlines (RAA), before the Subcommittee on Transport and Infrastructure of the Chamber of Deputies.

According to Black, more than half of active pilots in the US will reach the mandatory retirement age of 65 in the next 15 years, and younger pilots are not replacing those who retire, reports an American CNN article.

The problem hits the entire country, as 42 states now have fewer air services than they did before the pandemic, 136 airports have lost at least a quarter of their services, and airlines have completely abolished flights to 11 airports in smaller cities that connect to hubs bigger. In addition, more than 500 regional airline planes are grounded without enough pilots to fly, and those that do fly are being used up to 40% less than in the past.

With limited capacity and strong demand, prices are well above pre-pandemic levels. Big airlines are also grappling with pilot shortages and hiring passengers from regional airlines, making the problem even worse for passengers and the cities that depend on them.

According to Black, big companies hired more than 13,000 pilots in 2022, almost all from smaller airlines. However, it took 9,500 new entrants to meet demand.

The cost of training a new pilot can be as high as $80,000, totaling up to $200,000 when combined with the cost of a bachelor’s degree. To give poorer students a chance to become pilots, Black’s group asked for federal financial aid, but the union that represents most US airline pilots urged Congress not to change pilot qualifications and standards. training, as this would compromise safety.

While the RAA argues that there is a significant shortage of airmen, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) countered the argument by saying that it estimates that the United States has certified about 64,000 airlift pilots since July 2013, while airlines have hired to fill approximately 40,000 vacancies.

Black points out, however, that airlines are not the only destination for trained pilots, as there is demand from executive, private and agricultural aviation companies, for example. Regardless of anything and contradictory opinions, the so-called “tsunami” of retirements is a fact that will need to be attacked by US airlines.