Flygermangel i United - 100 fly på bakken - Curt Lewis

 

United has 100 aircraft on the ground due to pilot shortage

United Airlines has informed the U.S. government that it has 100 aircraft grounded due to a lack of pilots. This was stated by the company’s CEO, Scott Kirby, during a U.S. Senate hearing concerning the impact left by the pandemic on the airline industry and the survival of the company, employee salaries, and a safe work environment.

«There was already a pilot shortage wave over the last decade in the U.S. and as we’ve gone through COVID, it has turned into a real shortfall» Scott further explained, as he pointed out that 100 of his company’s aircraft are not operating because there are no pilots for them.

The release does not detail to which specific aircraft they are alluding and if they include the regional United Express subsidiary, which is the gateway for the company’s pilots, as well as the weakest backbone of the company’s network.

Being a pilot in any country in the world is expensive and prerequisites to join a sound company are high, which makes the profession unattractive to young people, especially those who want stability, routine, and a quicker return on the money invested in their training.

According to what was reported by our partner Aeroin, United itself promotes training through Aviate, which establishes alliances with large civil aviation schools and renowned universities offering aviation courses, so that those who graduate can leave with a pre-contract that ties them to the airline.

In addition, the low salaries of pilots in regional and national airlines are a constant complaint, which creates a complex paradigm.

Why is there a pilot shortage? Flight instructor explains how difficult, time consuming, and expensive it is to join the field

• Flight instructor Guenter Trautmann with Alpha One Air Services in Concord said many pilots were laid off during the pandemic, and others are older and retiring.

CONCORD, N.C. — United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said dozens of planes have been grounded due to a pilot shortage. It’s a shortage that’s being felt across the entire industry.

"It's not something that’s really new or something that’s been driven by the pandemic, it's something that has been emerging for a while and has been exacerbated by the pandemic," Nicole Carriere with United Airlines said.

Flight instructor Guenter Trautmann with Alpha One Air Services in Concord said many pilots were laid off during the pandemic, and others are older and retiring.

“Those ones are basically falling through the roster,” Trautmann said. 

Trautmann said the real problem, though, is that they’re not easy to replace. That is in part because of the required minimum of 1,500 flight hours.

“It takes you probably about 2--2.5 years really to start from scratch,” Trautmann said. 

Trautmann said it’s also more challenging than some bargain for.

“Yeah, that is something a lot of people underestimate," Trautmann said. "They do not see all the theory and studying behind it.” 

If the time and difficulty isn’t a deal-breaker, Trautmann said the financial burden could be. He said aspiring pilots like him have to finance their own training.

“Me personally, it's about $85-90,000 which I had to basically put out of my own pocket into pilot training," Trautmann said.

Trautmann said the payoff in salary isn’t immediate.

“I think it starts around in the $50s," Trautmann said, "$50,000 a year for the first two years. I think the big chunk of money going into the six figures, really you can achieve after six, seven, eight years.” 

Carriere said their company has joined other airlines offering pilot training programs that assist prospective pilots with the costs.

“There could be so many more people who would be interested in it if just given the opportunity," Carriere said.

Carriere said their program will focus on attracting women and people of color, whom she said are underrepresented in the pilot field.

Boeing expects the demand for airline pilots to remain high for years. The aerospace company said in a recent report that an estimated 612,000 new pilots will be needed worldwide over the next two decades. 

Carriere said United is committed to training more than 5,000 pilots by the end of the decade.