Airlines Hiring Buses to Transport Passengers Between Airports During Pilot Shortage

The New York Post ^ | 4/24/2022 | Patrick Reilly

[Old Yeller]

Come drive with me. Come drive away.

[T.B. Yoits]

There are some things different with this pilot shortage compared to past shortages:

-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.

[Army Air Corps]

Good one!