The issue of a pilot shortage in the aviation industry has been making headlines for quite some time, with commercial airlines typically at the center of the conversation. But according to reports (and my personal observation), the private jet sector of aviation is also falling victim to what many claim is a global crisis.
Aviation International News recently reported that upwards of 98,000 pilots will be needed to fly around the world over the next 19 years to meet the growing demand to fly privately. As is the case with so many other major industries, it isn’t easy to pinpoint a clear-cut cause or solution to a problem of this magnitude. Nevertheless, I’m happy to share some insights I’ve gathered throughout my 20-plus years of industry experience.
There are a number of reasons for what might have caused a pilot shortage in the private jet sector. The shortage has been exacerbated by socio-economic issues, as well as the now aging demographics of society, which includes the large number of Baby Boomer pilots that are starting to retire.
Aviation has come to be seen as a commodity and many are beginning to lose their fascination with the industry. Prices have started to go down for consumers, putting tremendous pressure on profits and leading to stagnate salaries for pilots. People still have to undergo the same expensive and intense training to get the correct ratings to become a pilot, yet the payment at the end of that long road has become less desirable to younger generations. These inevitabilities, paired with the expectation that within the next 20 years air travel is going to double, has left both the commercial and private jet industries searching for a solution.
Although there is no simple, one-step solution to the pilot shortage, there are two areas which I believe can help relieve some of the pressures. Firstly, the required hours of military-trained pilots who switch over to a career in either commercial or private aviation should be reconsidered. In our industry, you need thousands of hours of experience to come up in the ranks and get the highest ratings.
It goes without saying that high ratings are essential to earning the public’s trust when their life is in your hands. But military pilots have many years of combat flight training. Despite this reliable experience, most do not qualify to be private jet pilots simply because they will not have accumulated enough hours to do so, a technicality that I find to be detrimental to the industry.
Ask yourself this: wouldn’t you feel more comfortable being flown by a person who has navigated during some of the most dangerous of situations?
Another possible solution, which I am pleased to see has not gone unrecognized by mainstream media, is encouraging more women to become pilots. According to the Centre for Aviation, just over 4 percent of American and British airline pilots were women in 2018. To have half of the population be so severely excluded from a single industry is not only ludicrous, but also unnecessary.
It is true that we are beginning to see more women in the cockpit, as the industry has taken important action to promote gender equality. Delta Air Lines recently had an all female crew fly 120 young girls from Utah to Texas, a great feat and promising step toward closing the gender gap in aviation. Like many others, I look forward to the day when an all-female flight crew is no longer newsworthy.
Unfortunately, this change won’t happen overnight, and I strongly believe that it starts with the way we educate our children. Young girls should be no less encouraged than their male counterparts to take an interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineerings, and Math) subjects. Afterall, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, STEM is essential to the employment of future generations, a strong economic future and maintaining our country’s global leadership in aviation.
So what can aviation professionals do in real-time to help? My company has tried to combat the lack of pilots available within the industry by maintaining a stable and honest work environment for all of its private jet pilots. We do this by offering competitive salaries, ensuring that our pilots feel respected in the workplace and promoting the best work-life balance possible.
Flexible and reasonable schedules are a great way to attract potential candidates. On the pilot training front, Alerion is looking into new and different approaches with our provider CAE, which offers novices the opportunity to fast track into flying jet aircraft by focusing all their training on that objective. Rather than spend years flying single engine piston powered aircraft, first as a student, then as an instructor building flight time, an Ab Initio cadet learns to function in a two person cockpit of a sophisticated turbine powered aircraft form the start.
After about 500 hours of simulator and real life flying, they would transfer into the right seat of a private jet and spend the next thousand flight hours honing their craft and earning an Airline Transport Pilot rating. At that point , they would leave for a sponsoring airline.
Although this is a long (and costly) process, we are looking to ensure that we have the highest quality pilots who have also had the most efficient training that we can provide.
Bob Seidel is the chief executive officer and managing partner of Alerion Aviation, an aviation services company providing aircraft management, charter, maintenance and FBO services to owners and operators of private jet aircraft. With bases in Long Beach CA, Farmingdale, NY and Palm Beach, FL, Alerion operates fourteen business jets. The company is a licensed Part 135 air carrier and Part 145 repair station and holds the highest safety ratings from ARG/US (Platinum) and Wyvern (Wingman). The company is certified to stage three of the International Standards for Business Aviation Operations.
Prior to joining Alerion Seidel was senior vice president and general manager of Jet Aviation Flight Services with responsibility for the Americas. In this role he oversaw the operation of over 70 aircraft, employing over 225 pilots, 65 maintenance technicians and 35 cabin service representatives. Jet Aviation is a General Dynamics company with approximately 4,500 employees and facilities in Europe, Asia, the Mideast and North and South America.
Seidel joined Jet Aviation after four years as a sales director for Gulfstream Aerospace. Based in Chicago, with responsibility for a five state region, Seidel sold large cabin, super midsize and midsize jets for the company.
Seidel served in the U.S. Navy as a naval flight officer prosecuting enemy submarines with the P-3C Orion aircraft. During his career he served in the Indian and Pacific Ocean theaters. He retired as a lieutenant commander.
Seidel earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy and a Masters of Management degree from the Kellogg School of Northwestern University.
Seidel is a private pilot. He and his wife reside in south Florida. They have three children.
