The number of student pilot licences that the Federal Aviation Administration issues has declined from a peak of 98,000 in 1998 to 85,000 in 2006
Somewhat overlooking that fact that the price of Aviation Gasoline to pay for those training hours has gone from 95 Cents to $3.10 a gallon in the same period, and losing its glamor comes some distance down the list from actually being able to afford it. Further fails to make the connection that those same soaring fuel costs are also a key reason in driving the airlines to bankruptcy and back, thus eroding the terms and conditions available in the industry, thus removing the incentive to be a commercial pilot.