How Bad is the Pilot Shortage in Business Aviation?

The ‘ongoing pilot shortage’ has become a dogma in the Business Aviation industry. The concern consistently earns a place on the Top 10 List ranking when identifying the key issues and challenges facing us in the future.

From my own interactions with flight departments and larger fleet operators, I cannot conclude that this is the case. In fact, I believe the opposite is true.

Those I spoke to in the field commented that while pilot training slots were indeed scarce, the pilots themselves were not. In fact, many operators report having far more resumes than pilot slots.

However, on the other side of the aviation world at the airlines there is indeed an indisputable, acute shortage of pilots, particularly relating to the regional airlines. Those firms have been unable to expand their routes or fleet sizes because there simply aren’t enough pilots.

Even the large majors lack enough qualified candidates, often resorting to poaching the regional airlines’ pilots, causing high turnover and making the problem more complex.

So, how could there be such a dichotomy with a seemingly adequate pool of pilots on the Business Aviation side but a dearth with the scheduled airlines?

Getting to the Root of the Pilot Shortage

Strangely, this phenomenon can be explained by going back 15 years ago to a fatal regional airline crash that occurred near Buffalo, New York.

In an arguably knee-jerk reaction lobbied for by the US pilot unions, US Congress felt obligated to do something.

They did so by increasing the minimum flight hour experience levels for airline pilot new hires from 250 hours to 1,500. This was despite the fact the crew of the ill-fated flight had more than 1,500 hours’ experience each.

While the effects have taken years to materialize, today we have a shortage of airline pilots because of the higher experience levels required. The barriers to entry for becoming a pilot were raised by the 1,500-hour rule, making the career choice less attractive from a time and investment perspective.

Business Aviation a Clear Winner Amid Airline Pilot Shortages?

I would argue that Business Aviation has in fact been the clear winner of this rule change.

Whereas the 1,500-hour rule applies only to the airlines (Part 121), private aviation (Parts 91, 91K and 135) still play by the original 250-hour minimum rulebook, which is the same cut-off used by most of the world’s airlines except in the US. (Military pilots can require even less time to command an aircraft.)

While private aviation flight departments can choose voluntarily to require more than 250 hours’ experience, Business Aviation has become a draw for aspiring pilots because of the lower barriers to entry.

As such, the available pool of pilot candidates to our industry is much larger than for the airlines. Flight school graduates would much rather build their time in a business aircraft than racking up their 1,500 hours in a bouncing Cessna 150 at the mercy of the weather and students.

Hence, the next time we hear about the pilot shortage we should be aware that it’s likely referring to the airline side, not private aviation. In the US, Business Aviation has been given the opportunity to hire the cream of the crop before the air carriers can.

The biggest risk isn’t finding pilots, but rather retaining them after they’ve accumulated 1,500 hours and become eligible for the airlines.

Experience has shown that pilot turnover, while not uncommon, has not been excessive in our business, especially if the pay is comparable to the airlines.

Now, if there were only more time I’d next address the purported aircraft mechanic shortage, which I’d argue is more of a lack of competitive compensation levels than willing and able personnel...

MI www.brifo.com