A study on Airline Pilot Labour Supply has been released by the Aviation Department at the University of North Dakota (UND).
The study considers the increased demand for pilots and how it will be caused by aircraft growth, pilot retirements, and pilot attrition from the industry for reasons other than retirement. In addition, the study considers how the FAA’s regulation that will require first officers in regional jets to hold at least an ATP certificate is likely to also cause an increase in the number of new pilots required. The new law is due to be enforced in August 2013.
The study also suggests ways in which the industry and regulators should focus on attracting new pilots to the career.
Kent Lovelace, chair of the aviation department at UND, explained to AVweb that regional airlines have already started to reject applicants who aren’t likely to log the minimum 1,500 hours total time by this summer, and the change also has caused some students to choose a different career track. According to Lovelace, these choices to follow a different career will likely contribute to the projected shortage of up to 35,000 pilots over the next 20 years or so.
The full study can be found here.
