US airlines desperate for pilots dropping some requirements and considering cutting training hours

The shortage is continuing to worsen.

As the pilot shortage continues to rock the airline industry, carriers are struggling to fulfill their flight schedules, and some are even trying to reduce required training hours to get more pilots in the air.

"The pilot shortage for the industry is real, and most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plans because there simply aren't enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years,"

This doesn't sound good, at least not to me:

Because of the lack of pilots, carriers are considering changing long-standing requirements to get more pilots flying sooner, like nixing degree requirements, dropping the mandatory number of flight hours needed to be hired, and increasing the pilot retirement age.

In January, Delta announced it would end the requirement for pilots to have a four-year degree, saying there are qualified candidates "who have gained more than the equivalent of a college education through years of life and leadership experience."

Delta, American, and United, is trying to reduce its pilot training requirements. In April, the airline asked the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to hire pilots out of its training academy when they reach 750 flight hours instead of the 1,500 hours currently required for most pilots.

If the number of hours to train an airline pilot can be cut by half, why were 1,500 hours of training ever needed in the first place?

Notice how dropping the vaccine requirement isn't even being discussed? If it wasn't for mandating pilots be vaccinated there wouldn't even be a problem.

Tons of money being thrown around to solve problems created by force-vaccination, yet none address the root cause and FIX the problem.

[www.businessinsider.com...]

I do believe I just read the other day that the FAA moved their hours requirement from hundreds to thousands of hours, deterring potential new pilots from pursuing that career and even taking hundreds of current pilots out of the sky.... and of course it was in response to a crash that had nothing to do with pilot training.
I think it was a Stossel video.

a reply to: nugget1

'Notice how dropping the vaccine requirement isn't even being discussed? If it wasn't for mandating pilots be vaccinated there wouldn't even be a problem.'

I was waiting for that to be mentioned in the top 3.....taboo apparently.

a reply to: nugget1

Just what we need in a pilot - less training and experience. 🙄

a reply to: VierEyes

Coupled with broken planes due to unavailability of spare parts.

Or in the case of Boeing planes that weren't built right to begin with! a reply to: chris_stibrany

is this after they fired a bunch of pilots for not taking the jab?


eta:
www.npr.org...
www.forbes.com...

www.cnbc.com...

it looks like folks didn't think more than a few minutes into the future.

I ain't flying. Not no mo'! Ain't no way in hell I'm getting up in one of those tubes in the sky.

a reply to: nugget1

Yeah...that less training part means I likely won't be getting on to an airplane anytime in the near future.

a reply to: nugget1
"carriers are considering changing long-standing requirements to get more pilots flying sooner, like nixing degree requirements, dropping the mandatory number of flight hours needed to be hired, and increasing the pilot retirement age."


What could go wrong.

originally posted by: lordcomac
I do believe I just read the other day that the FAA moved their hours requirement from hundreds to thousands of hours, deterring potential new pilots from pursuing that career and even taking hundreds of current pilots out of the sky.... and of course it was in response to a crash that had nothing to do with pilot training.
I think it was a Stossel video.

The article I referenced was from May, 2021. The article from March 2021 stated the 1500 hour rule was enacted in 2013, and listed some changes that had been made to that rule.

It appears one moth later they are considering even more changes. Those changes being considered now are the ones I've listed.

Next month it may be something entirely different; who knows at this point?

I can see by the comments that none of us laymen think this is a very good plan, but what do we know?

originally posted by: nugget1
The shortage is continuing to worsen.

As the pilot shortage continues to rock the airline industry, carriers are struggling to fulfill their flight schedules, and some are even trying to reduce required training hours to get more pilots in the air.

"The pilot shortage for the industry is real, and most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plans because there simply aren't enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years,"

This doesn't sound good, at least not to me:

Because of the lack of pilots, carriers are considering changing long-standing requirements to get more pilots flying sooner, like nixing degree requirements, dropping the mandatory number of flight hours needed to be hired, and increasing the pilot retirement age.

In January, Delta announced it would end the requirement for pilots to have a four-year degree, saying there are qualified candidates "who have gained more than the equivalent of a college education through years of life and leadership experience."

Delta, American, and United, is trying to reduce its pilot training requirements. In April, the airline asked the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to hire pilots out of its training academy when they reach 750 flight hours instead of the 1,500 hours currently required for most pilots.

If the number of hours to train an airline pilot can be cut by half, why were 1,500 hours of training ever needed in the first place?

Notice how dropping the vaccine requirement isn't even being discussed? If it wasn't for mandating pilots be vaccinated there wouldn't even be a problem.

Tons of money being thrown around to solve problems created by force-vaccination, yet none address the root cause and FIX the problem.

[www.businessinsider.com...]

Something about 'shooting themselves in the foot' comes to mind

originally posted by: ancientlight

originally posted by: nugget1
The shortage is continuing to worsen.

As the pilot shortage continues to rock the airline industry, carriers are struggling to fulfill their flight schedules, and some are even trying to reduce required training hours to get more pilots in the air.

"The pilot shortage for the industry is real, and most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plans because there simply aren't enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years,"

This doesn't sound good, at least not to me:

Because of the lack of pilots, carriers are considering changing long-standing requirements to get more pilots flying sooner, like nixing degree requirements, dropping the mandatory number of flight hours needed to be hired, and increasing the pilot retirement age.

In January, Delta announced it would end the requirement for pilots to have a four-year degree, saying there are qualified candidates "who have gained more than the equivalent of a college education through years of life and leadership experience."

Delta, American, and United, is trying to reduce its pilot training requirements. In April, the airline asked the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to hire pilots out of its training academy when they reach 750 flight hours instead of the 1,500 hours currently required for most pilots.

If the number of hours to train an airline pilot can be cut by half, why were 1,500 hours of training ever needed in the first place?

Notice how dropping the vaccine requirement isn't even being discussed? If it wasn't for mandating pilots be vaccinated there wouldn't even be a problem.

Tons of money being thrown around to solve problems created by force-vaccination, yet none address the root cause and FIX the problem.

[www.businessinsider.com...]

Something about 'shooting themselves in the foot' comes to mind

One of my favorite sayings! I've been known to do that a few times in my life! At least, when my foot wasn't in my mouth!

a reply to: nugget1

It must be due to the covid vaccination requirement.

a reply to: lordcomac

The 1500 hours requirement was in response to Colgan 3407, which absolutely did have to do with pilot error, as well as crew coordination, and training. The aircraft was being configured for landing, and the speed fell to 131 knots, at which point the stick shaker activated, indicating an impending stall. Instead of pushing the nose down, and increasing to full power, which was the correct response, the pilot pulled the nose up, and went to 75% power.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this
accident was the captain’s inappropriate response to the activation of the stick shaker, which led
to an aerodynamic stall from which the airplane did not recover. Contributing to the accident
were (1) the flight crew’s failure to monitor airspeed in relation to the rising position of the lowspeed cue, (2) the flight crew’s failure to adhere to sterile cockpit procedures, (3) the captain’s
failure to effectively manage the flight, and (4) Colgan Air’s inadequate procedures for airspeed
selection and management during approaches in icing conditions.
The safety issues discussed in this report focus on strategies to prevent flight crew
monitoring failures, pilot professionalism, fatigue, remedial training, pilot training records,
airspeed selection procedures, stall training, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) oversight,
flight operational quality assurance programs, use of personal portable electronic devices on the
flight deck, the FAA’s use of safety alerts for operators to transmit safety-critical information,
and weather information provided to pilots. Safety recommendations concerning these issues are
addressed to the FAA.

www.ntsb.gov...

a reply to: nugget1

The airlines can only request that the FAA change the required hours. They can't actually change them themselves. Most airlines, in the last few years, have started their own flight academies to get pilots their required hours, including having the student pilots, once they're qualified, act as instructors for up and coming students. Then once they have their required hours, they're moved into the cockpit.

The biggest problem with getting pilots in the cockpit is that, even going through the airline schools, you're having to finance somewhere around $100-200,000. There is a restricted ATP license you can get, if you get a degree through an FAA certified school that lets you fly as a copilot on commercial flights until you get the 1500 hours, but you're still going to be paying a lot of money. A standard pilot license can run you $12-15,000, and that's only one step in the ATP process.

a reply to: Zaphod58
Thank you for that! What do you see happening to the future of airlines, if you don't mind my asking?

a reply to: nugget1

The "pilot shortage" is the same as the "truck driver shortage". It's less a shortage than it is an attempt to reduce standards and pay. According to the BTS, there are 1.5 qualified pilots for every opening at the airlines.



The airlines don't want to pay more than they have to. Qantas is a great example. They had a 787 fly from Australia to LAX with multiple static ports covered on the engines. The pilots don't even do a walkaround anymore, they have an unqualified baggage handler do it. How in God's name he missed the huge patches of red and yellow tape on the white engines I don't know, other than him simply signing off on it without actually doing it, but he did. There have been a number of recent incidents involving Qantas, related to unqualified people doing jobs they both weren't hired for, and weren't trained for. All in the name of saving money.

The airline industry is just going to get worse, because you end up with airlines not making money being bought out by larger airlines, who get bought out by a larger airline, and we end up with a few mega airlines, and no competition. This happens because airlines don't make nearly as much money as people think, even on profitable routes. American Airlines used to have a route that if they sold every seat on the plane, including some that sold for two or three times others, their profit margin was $10. So if they can get pilots in seats faster, and pay them what regional airlines pay them (peanuts on the dollar), they save money. At some point both the trucking and airline industry are going to see some snap back and have to start spending more on pilots and drivers.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Thank you for explaining that to me. The gas shortage is just taking the foundation out from under everything that keeps our economy afloat, it seems.

The first thing the FAA needs to do is to end the bull snip ATP-CTP requirement. Seriously, it’s a scam to make these certain schools money. It has zero academic value.