Turbulent times for pilots

Aug. 20--You can add a looming pilot shortage to the laundry list of challenges facing U.S. airlines.

Unless the nation starts churning out more commercial pilots, airlines could confront a shortfall of 30,000 qualified cockpit positions by 2017.

That's according to a preliminary report issued recently by Fltops.com, an online information service for active and aspiring professional pilots. The forecast, published in Aviation Week & Space Technology, is based on current flight training levels, anticipated retirements and the Federal Aviation Administration's growth projections.

Competition for newly qualified commercial pilots already has heated up, according to Kent Lovelace, a professor of aviation and chairman of the University of North Dakota's aerospace department, one of the largest trainers of commercial pilots in the nation.

"We've had about 10 different airlines out here, hiring on campus this year. And most of them have been coming back every six weeks or so," he said.

Lovelace said would-be employers have become increasingly aggressive, offering signing bonuses and extending job offers contingent upon students successfully completing their aviation studies. Other carriers have offered their existing employees bonuses for referrals that result in the hiring of new pilots.

"I've been working here since 1980, and I've never before seen this level of recruiting activity," Lovelace said.

But the career path for young pilots remains rocky. Just ask Andrew Johnson, a Duluth native now flying CRJ200s, 700s and 900s for SkyWest Airlines in Chicago. During this, his first year with the company, he expects to pull down less than $20,000 in pay.

"I don't know many people who make less than I do," said Johnson, who also operates a painting business on the side. He said that many of his pilot colleagues work second jobs to make ends meet.

BURDENSOME DEBTS

The low pay is even more difficult to bear, considering the debts aspiring pilots incur to become qualified for commercial jobs.

Lovelace said it's not unusual for a pilot to invest $100,000 in training before landing an airline job. Many people enter the profession shouldering hefty debts.

In contrast, many more airline pilots used to enter the field following military flying careers. They received most of their training on Uncle Sam's dime.

Lovelace said that up until the 1980s, about 75 percent of new airline pilot hires came from the military, and the remainder came from civilian training programs. Just the opposite is true today, he said.

"The military has downsized so dramatically since the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Iron Curtain, it has really dried up as a source of pilots," Lovelace said.

Given the changing scene, he contends that young people need more of a financial incentive to pursue careers as commercial airline pilots. He pointed out that often graduates can make more flying cargo or working in the corporate aviation arena than they can working for regional airlines.

"There's no way around it; regional carriers are going to have to up their pay," Lovelace said.

"PAYING YOUR DUES"

For most pilots, working at a regional carrier remains a necessary precursor to winning a job at a major national airline.

"It's seen as paying your dues," said Johnson, who said he still aspires to one day fly larger aircraft for a major airline. First, however, Johnson acknowledges he probably will need to become a captain at SkyWest and log at least 1,000 hours in that role to make it to the big leagues.

Wade Blaufuss, a first officer flying Boeing 757s for Northwest Airlines, said the payoff for pilots who made it to the major airlines used to be more rewarding than it is now. In the past few years, Blaufuss said that he and other pilots at Northwest have seen their wages cut by about 38 percent, as the airline restructured through bankruptcy.