Posted on 04/25/2022 7:41:31 PM PDT by T.B. Yoits
Several US airlines struggling to find pilots amid a nationwide shortage are hiring bus companies to transport passengers to airports in cities that are only a short flight away.
American Airlines, the country’s largest airline, announced a partnership with a coach company earlier this month to transport passengers between Philadelphia International Airport and airports in Allentown, Pennsylvania [73 miles away] and Atlantic City, New Jersey [56 miles away].
American and the bus company, Landline, said the service would be an easier way to get to and from the two airports rather than flying. The service is scheduled to begin on June 3.
United Airlines also has deals with Landline, which is based in Fort Collins Colorado. United has offered one-stop connections on the buses from the Denver airport to or from Breckenridge and Fort Collins since April 1.
The bus company said it raised $28 million to expand its geographic reach.
The bus services come as airlines desperately try to hire new pilots. The shortage will likely cause ticket prices to skyrocket as airlines have been forced to ground some of their fleet, increasing demand.
Over the next 15 years, the United States will lose half of all its pilots, according to the Regional Airline Association, as the Federal Aviation Association mandates that all pilots must retire at 65. American Airlines expects 5,000 of its 15,000 pilots to retire in the next seven years, according to ABC. The pandemic also caused a wave of early retirements.
US airlines hope to add 13,000 pilots just this year, but America produces only between 5,000 and 7,000 pilots annually, according to United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, ABC News reported.
(More at The New York Post)
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Come drive with me. Come drive away.
-The military removed High Year Tenure for rated officers. In the past, pilots who didn't make Major were separated but starting about two decades ago, they could fly to 20 years as a Captain. That makes for fewer ex-military pilots at the 10-12 year mark going to the regionals.
-The "solution" from United and their Aviate Academy is to have half of their students be women and "people of color". That's a real warning indicator that they can't attract enough qualified students. It's not about "equality", it's about an inability to attract highly qualified candidates.
-The airlines can't increase the compensation. The airlines for years had ex-military pilots whose compensation was subsidized by their military pensions. With fewer of those subsidized pilots available, the airlines would have to pay more pilots the full scale but they can't afford it. The "big money" is long gone.
-The shot mandates crossed a line that cannot be backtracked. Pilots are acutely aware that one health condition can end their career. Flying is a specific skill that doesn't transfer to other fields. Who would risk starting down a career path to be told years into it that they have to take an experimental injection at the risk of not just their health but their ability to earn a living? The pilots union, instead of calling for an immediate nation-wide strike the first day of the mandate, threw their own members under the bus. What pilot would ever trust their union or employer that backed the mandate? What potential pilot would ever start down that path? The trust is gone.
Good one!
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