Another "Pilot shortage" Article
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Another "Pilot shortage" Article
"NEW figures showing the global aviation industry will need to find 17,000 pilots a year are likely to prove bad news for Australian airlines.
Australia's regional carriers are already finding it tough to recruit replacements for pilots moving to bigger airlines as those carriers intensify their recruitment drives.
That situation will be exacerbated by the arrival from next year of new jets in the domestic market, plus aggressive growth plans by overseas airlines who have traditionally used Australia as a recruiting ground.
International Air Transport Association director-general Giovanni Bisignani said the high demand for pilots would be due to a combination of retirements and a projected industry growth of 5 to 6per cent a year.
He said the industry was already seeing the first signs of strain with two worrying tendencies: lower training and qualification standards and human factors cropping up in more accidents.
"It's time to ring the warning bell," Mr Bisignani said.
"We must rethink pilot training and qualification to further improve safety and increase training capacity."
Australian and International Pilots Association general manager Peter Somerville said Qantas already had a shortage in parts of the group, including Qantaslink and Jetstar, and was running an extensive recruitment program.
"We all agree that if there's not a pilot shortage now, if half the expansion plans of the world's airlines are realised, there certainly will be in the very near future," Mr Somerville said.
Qantas wanted to boost pilots' productivity, Mr Somerville said.
The union had called for an independent audit of potential pilot productivity gains and was looking at ways this could be rewarded, he said."
Well we've heard it all before. This shortage seems to be generated by the media to make good copy.
Yes some of the regionals are reducing/cancelling some routes but this too is economic opportunism as many of these routes have been loss makers.
Lets face it bean counters run the show now and they will dictate the introduction of the MCC and the levels of safety will be maintained by idiot proof aircraft. Even if there is a hull loss,the industry will blame the operation within that airline and not the endemic across the board lowering of experience levels brought on by the MCC licence.
Rant Over.
Australia's regional carriers are already finding it tough to recruit replacements for pilots moving to bigger airlines as those carriers intensify their recruitment drives.
That situation will be exacerbated by the arrival from next year of new jets in the domestic market, plus aggressive growth plans by overseas airlines who have traditionally used Australia as a recruiting ground.
International Air Transport Association director-general Giovanni Bisignani said the high demand for pilots would be due to a combination of retirements and a projected industry growth of 5 to 6per cent a year.
He said the industry was already seeing the first signs of strain with two worrying tendencies: lower training and qualification standards and human factors cropping up in more accidents.
"It's time to ring the warning bell," Mr Bisignani said.
"We must rethink pilot training and qualification to further improve safety and increase training capacity."
Australian and International Pilots Association general manager Peter Somerville said Qantas already had a shortage in parts of the group, including Qantaslink and Jetstar, and was running an extensive recruitment program.
"We all agree that if there's not a pilot shortage now, if half the expansion plans of the world's airlines are realised, there certainly will be in the very near future," Mr Somerville said.
Qantas wanted to boost pilots' productivity, Mr Somerville said.
The union had called for an independent audit of potential pilot productivity gains and was looking at ways this could be rewarded, he said."
Well we've heard it all before. This shortage seems to be generated by the media to make good copy.
Yes some of the regionals are reducing/cancelling some routes but this too is economic opportunism as many of these routes have been loss makers.
Lets face it bean counters run the show now and they will dictate the introduction of the MCC and the levels of safety will be maintained by idiot proof aircraft. Even if there is a hull loss,the industry will blame the operation within that airline and not the endemic across the board lowering of experience levels brought on by the MCC licence.
Rant Over.
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If AIPA manage to negotiate a 10% increase in productivity - what effect on promotions will that have?
Perhaps a 12% increase on F/O's and S/O's and a graduated increase to 5% for Captains.
Perhaps a 12% increase on F/O's and S/O's and a graduated increase to 5% for Captains.
How the hell can you increase productivity when pilots are already flying max hours? Short term bandaid at best.
greenslopes,
I hope you are being sarcastic. None of the routes being sacrificed by my company due to the shortage of pilots was a loss maker. Those sectors that were marginal were identified and liquidated long ago by the been counters that you hold in such high regard!
Everything that follows now is a desperate attempt at survival untill such time as this "non existant crisis" blows over. probably around 2012!
greenslopes,
I hope you are being sarcastic. None of the routes being sacrificed by my company due to the shortage of pilots was a loss maker. Those sectors that were marginal were identified and liquidated long ago by the been counters that you hold in such high regard!
Everything that follows now is a desperate attempt at survival untill such time as this "non existant crisis" blows over. probably around 2012!
Last edited by KRUSTY 34; 6th Dec 2007 at 17:05.
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OK - I'll admit up front it may be semantics but I'm starting to get pissed off with all this talk of a "pilot shortage."
There is NO shortage - and I doubt there ever will be.
Now to clarify: if you look at a contact to fly overseas and you wish to get home to visit the missus and kids as much as you can there is a world of difference between "10 days off per month" and "10 consecutive days off per month."
There will always be 250 hour pilots to sit in the RHS - all care and no responsibility, pull up the gear, put down the flaps and talk on the radio.
Done in other parts of the world, having seen myself am certainly not endorsing from a professional perspective but regulators allow it so it MUST be the way to go; bureaucrats could never be wrong, could they??
VB found out the truth for themselves in the last 12 months - having used up all the experienced F/o's from a REAL airline they had a 50% failure rate on upgrades. Someone said the training has been revamped in light of this however seeing as the whole ethos of low cost is to spend as little money as possible one has to wonder how far out of the "tick in the box" mentality they have actually moved.
Regardless, as I mentioned a long time ago congrats to the checkies/trainers who did the right thing in having standards and (maybe) forcing some issues with management.
(in respect VB.)
LCC only have interests in poaching (now where have I heard THAT word before???) pilots who have gained experience elsewhere; to actually set up a professional, ongoing training system within the airline might be a damn fine idea for the paying customers; it would be anathema to the bottom line individuals so AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!!
Apologies for the length but such is life:
There is NO shortage of pilots, never will be, but there is a growing lack of depth of experience and/or training that will allow the occupants in the RHS to promote to the LHS - safely and successfully.
Oh - the bureaucrats may allow it but if it goes wrong it will be the lawyers for the families of relatives who died who will make the money, not the airlines.
And the airline involved will be history - which I would wish upon nobody.
There is NO shortage - and I doubt there ever will be.
Now to clarify: if you look at a contact to fly overseas and you wish to get home to visit the missus and kids as much as you can there is a world of difference between "10 days off per month" and "10 consecutive days off per month."
There will always be 250 hour pilots to sit in the RHS - all care and no responsibility, pull up the gear, put down the flaps and talk on the radio.
Done in other parts of the world, having seen myself am certainly not endorsing from a professional perspective but regulators allow it so it MUST be the way to go; bureaucrats could never be wrong, could they??
VB found out the truth for themselves in the last 12 months - having used up all the experienced F/o's from a REAL airline they had a 50% failure rate on upgrades. Someone said the training has been revamped in light of this however seeing as the whole ethos of low cost is to spend as little money as possible one has to wonder how far out of the "tick in the box" mentality they have actually moved.
Regardless, as I mentioned a long time ago congrats to the checkies/trainers who did the right thing in having standards and (maybe) forcing some issues with management.
(in respect VB.)LCC only have interests in poaching (now where have I heard THAT word before???) pilots who have gained experience elsewhere; to actually set up a professional, ongoing training system within the airline might be a damn fine idea for the paying customers; it would be anathema to the bottom line individuals so AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!!
Apologies for the length but such is life:
There is NO shortage of pilots, never will be, but there is a growing lack of depth of experience and/or training that will allow the occupants in the RHS to promote to the LHS - safely and successfully.
Oh - the bureaucrats may allow it but if it goes wrong it will be the lawyers for the families of relatives who died who will make the money, not the airlines.
And the airline involved will be history - which I would wish upon nobody.
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A friend quoted management recently:
'' There is no shortage of pilots, we just have too many aircraft flying too many sectors.''
- Pilots are just those things that someone decided must be present whenever an aircraft goes flying......
'' There is no shortage of pilots, we just have too many aircraft flying too many sectors.''
- Pilots are just those things that someone decided must be present whenever an aircraft goes flying......
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Galdin....well mate,I with you ..to a certain extent...I have watched and read many who have written on this subject....never taken it seriously,as I have a job.....now I,m having doubts and a little confused
......I use my company as an example...we have over 6000 pilots....last month we hired over 100 new pilots.....42 showed up.....our training dept has been told to hire as many as they can and have actually started an abnitio programme with several uni,s........personally I think we are a ****e airline anyway and wouldnt take this job either if I had to do it all over again........but I hearing similar stories from other airlines experiencing the same woes...
...not sure what to think .....its either feast or famine......one thing is for sure,the bright lights of this industry have somewhat dimmed ...PB
......I use my company as an example...we have over 6000 pilots....last month we hired over 100 new pilots.....42 showed up.....our training dept has been told to hire as many as they can and have actually started an abnitio programme with several uni,s........personally I think we are a ****e airline anyway and wouldnt take this job either if I had to do it all over again........but I hearing similar stories from other airlines experiencing the same woes...
...not sure what to think .....its either feast or famine......one thing is for sure,the bright lights of this industry have somewhat dimmed ...PB
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I have had a number of friends attend interviews with the airlines in Oz recently, when they have attended the sim session they have been shocked to find that 1 in 3 pilots are not turning up for their sim check! Now I expect that these companies pay regardless of whether the session is used or not!
Not sure if this means there is a shortage, but it does indicate that pilots have choices at the moment, use them wisely!
Not sure if this means there is a shortage, but it does indicate that pilots have choices at the moment, use them wisely!
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There is no shortage of individuals who aspire to be airline pilots, so it's the calibre of individuals which operators are in contest for.
The experienced high calibre individual will more than likely have the luxury of selecting which operator he/she chooses to be employed by & the associated terms & conditions.
Other individuals will have the opportunity to be placed with an airline with reasonable terms & conditions.
Then there will be those who will never cut the mustard.
The pilot shortage will exist when there is an instructor shortage to train such pilots. But the airlines will see to that too, ensuring they have sufficient instructors & training facilities to produce there product in house.
As alluded to in an earlier thread, the challenges (for airlines) exist when its time to upgrade to the left seat.
If you think there is currently a demand on pilots in OZ, hold on the ride is just about to start. Great opportunities for all those airline newbies.
Only those airlines with stategies to handle the said shortages will ride the shortage thru.
The experienced high calibre individual will more than likely have the luxury of selecting which operator he/she chooses to be employed by & the associated terms & conditions.
Other individuals will have the opportunity to be placed with an airline with reasonable terms & conditions.
Then there will be those who will never cut the mustard.
The pilot shortage will exist when there is an instructor shortage to train such pilots. But the airlines will see to that too, ensuring they have sufficient instructors & training facilities to produce there product in house.
As alluded to in an earlier thread, the challenges (for airlines) exist when its time to upgrade to the left seat.
If you think there is currently a demand on pilots in OZ, hold on the ride is just about to start. Great opportunities for all those airline newbies.
Only those airlines with stategies to handle the said shortages will ride the shortage thru.
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Quote......There is no shortage of individuals who aspire to be airline pilots!!!!!
yeah mate...hard to argue that......big watch ...small kock...even bigger ego,s(myself included).......the reality of the situation is that many have said..."bugger it"....those with half a brain will do a gross-margin....listen to us...fly these airlines....look at the price of fuel..... and the longevity of Airlines.......not a hard decision at all is it.....
Bottom line for a lot of us is this......I make good $$$$$...I can in no way,tomorrow ,....get a job that pays what I make now.......so each morning,I look in the mirror and say......
Hey w@#ker......get a grip!!!you piss and moan about nothing.....if you want a job digging holes for the porirua city council give them a call........reckon I dont know what Ive really got
There is for sure,a shortage.....a shortage of positive comments about this game....blame myself really...one of the worst....lets hope we havent created an environment that turns others away who really want this vocation..PB
yeah mate...hard to argue that......big watch ...small kock...even bigger ego,s(myself included).......the reality of the situation is that many have said..."bugger it"....those with half a brain will do a gross-margin....listen to us...fly these airlines....look at the price of fuel..... and the longevity of Airlines.......not a hard decision at all is it.....
Bottom line for a lot of us is this......I make good $$$$$...I can in no way,tomorrow ,....get a job that pays what I make now.......so each morning,I look in the mirror and say......
Hey w@#ker......get a grip!!!you piss and moan about nothing.....if you want a job digging holes for the porirua city council give them a call........reckon I dont know what Ive really got
There is for sure,a shortage.....a shortage of positive comments about this game....blame myself really...one of the worst....lets hope we havent created an environment that turns others away who really want this vocation..PB
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I hear ya Pakeha, perspective is a funny thing. Happiness is dependent on what you're comparing yourself to. How easy is it to look at what you ain't got and suddenly you're negative and pissing and moaning about nothing.
Digging holes in Porrirua... Cleaning **** holes in Wainui... good examples. All perspective. Same deal with the wife and that perky looking hostie. Well, kinda.
The negative comments won't keep those away who really want it. Didn't work on me and I got no regrets. Besides, you'd have to be blind to not notice the swing of late towards optimism and positivity on these cold and shady forums. Things are warming up.
Anyway, nice post about high calibre individuals choosing their employer Mstr C. The power of choice is massive.
Good stuff.
Digging holes in Porrirua... Cleaning **** holes in Wainui... good examples. All perspective. Same deal with the wife and that perky looking hostie. Well, kinda.
The negative comments won't keep those away who really want it. Didn't work on me and I got no regrets. Besides, you'd have to be blind to not notice the swing of late towards optimism and positivity on these cold and shady forums. Things are warming up.
Anyway, nice post about high calibre individuals choosing their employer Mstr C. The power of choice is massive.
Good stuff.
I can't say for sure that there is a pilot shortage, but there is definitely no longer a pilot surplus.
That means the big guys can no longer have stratospheric entry minimums if they want to find people, and thus people hang around for a shorter time in GA working towards these now reduced minimums, and from where I see it, there are more GA pilots leaving than coming into the game. Hence the pilot shortage.
That means the big guys can no longer have stratospheric entry minimums if they want to find people, and thus people hang around for a shorter time in GA working towards these now reduced minimums, and from where I see it, there are more GA pilots leaving than coming into the game. Hence the pilot shortage.
