Airlines Cut Minimum Pilot Experience to 500 hours and Below

More Evidence of the Pilot Shortage

PILOT SHORTAGE HITS REGIONALS
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#196655)
American Eagle, the regional subsidiary of American Airlines, has
trimmed flights from its winter schedule in part because it
doesn't have enough pilots. "It's one of several reasons, but that
does play into it," Eagle spokeswoman Andrea Huguely told the Fort
Worth Star-Telegram
(http://www.star-telegram.com/busines...y/322928.html). "The
pilots are crucial, and without them, the planes don't fly." Eagle
is one of several airlines that has cut minimum experience
requirements by two-thirds to 500 hours to attract more recruits.
According to the newspaper, Trans States Airlines, which operates
a regional service for American under the name American
Connection, briefly lowered its experience requirement to 250
hours during the summer. Although no one seems to deny the value
of experience, industry spokesmen contacted by the newspaper
seemed to agree that safety is not being seriously compromised.


http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/...20News/852841/
The carriers have reduced required flight hours for job applicants
by as much as two-thirds, and in a few cases have hired pilots
with the minimum experience required by the Federal Aviation
Administration for a pilot's license. ...

"The rush to push pilots through training and into the cockpits
raises obvious safety concerns," said John Prater, a veteran
Continental Airlines pilot and president of the Air Line Pilots
Association. ...

"New pilots today are going straight into the [co-pilot's] seat,
and moving into the [captain's] seat in a hurry," he said. "And
they're doing it in airplanes that are great machines but can be
unforgiving." ...

For example, a starting pilot at Trans States, a regional airline
that flies for American under the name American Connection, earns
$22 a flight hour, with 74 hours guaranteed a month, according to
AirlinePilotCentral.com, which tracks pilot salaries. That
translates to an annual starting salary of $19,500. A pilot flying
1,000 hours a year -- the most allowed under federal rules --
would earn about $22,000. ...

Airlines are aggressively recruiting on college campuses and
offering signing bonuses to new hires who complete their training.