Southwest Has Halved Its Flying Time Requirement
for New Pilots. Does This Make Flying With Southwest Any Less Safe?
Gabrielle Bejarano
Jun 15, 2023
Airline SafetyAviation IndustryFederal Aviation AdministrationSouthwest Airlines
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Earlier this year, Southwest Airlines decided
to halve the flying
time needed by its prospective pilots. This decision, which
allows applicants to have 500 hours of experience flying a jet or turboprop
aircraft instead of the previous 1,000, came amid staff shortages in
the aviation industry. But does this move make flying with Southwest any less
safe?
According to experts, not really. While announcing
the move, Southwest had clarified that its training policies are
not undergoing any change. In addition to this, the new hiring policy
still follows rules set
by the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA). This means that commercial pilots can
only get a license once they have completed 1,500 hours of
flying experience on any type of aircraft. (Interestingly,
the FAA’s policy is
more stringent than in other parts of the world — the European
Union, for instance, mandates specific training and just 230 hours of flying
experience.)
Aviation expert and United States Navy
veteran Douglas Manfredi,
who currently serves as the Senior Vice President Operations at private jet
services provider flyExclusive,
tells us why this rule will not make flying with Southwest any less safe.
Douglas’ Thoughts
“Hi, I am here to address Southwest’s recent
announcement about reducing their new hire turbine time threshold from 1,000
hours to 500 hours. In a nutshell, I really don’t believe it’s gonna make
Southwest pilots any less safe. All those pilots still have to meet minimum
thresholds to earn an airline transport pilot certificate. Southwest has stated
the training’s gonna remain the same. I will say though, that in general,
applicable to Southwest and all operators, training could be better. It’s
abbreviated due to capacity and instructor constraints. Nonetheless, all those
people will still serve as first officers for a number of years before being
promoted to captain and being put in charge of the aircraft. All in all, I
understand why Southwest is making this move. It’s primarily driven by supply
and demand of pilots. Without a sufficient number of pilots, they can’t meet
their flight demand and their revenue targets. Thank you.”
Article written by Aarushi
Maheshwari.
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