Professionalism in Aviation

Fewer flights, skyrocketing fares, and smaller cities losing air carrier service. This is not a nightmare, but a grim reality of the pilot shortage that will only intensify. Experts and leaders in the industry all agree that regional air carriers are having more trouble staffing their aircraft with pilots. What experts do not agree on is why. Some industry leaders argue that there are simply not enough certificated pilots entering the field; enrollment in flight schools is down, while pilot demand is at an all time high. Birgit Anderson (2016) reveals that the number of commercial aircraft operating in the United States will rise 7.7% over the next 20 years, while only two thirds of the pilots required to fly these aircraft will be available. This side of the argument is based on simple math. A Boeing analysis reveals that over the next 20 years, the pilot demand in North America will require 95,000 pilots, while the supply of qualified pilots will only be 64,000 (Anderson, 2016). Thus, the industry will be short well over 30,000 pilots in North America alone, not to mention more severe shortages in Europe and the Middle East. Proponents of this argument point to a lack of interest in the field and related expenses to explain the shortage. Some claim that rough travel schedules, expensive education costs, and the cyclical nature of the industry have turned many away ("The Coming," 2015). Others claim that there is not a shortage of qualified pilots. Instead, there is a shortage of pay, especially in the regional airline industry. The president of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) notes, "There may be a shortage of qualified pilots who are willing to fly for U.S. airlines because of the industry's recent history of instability, poor pay, and benefits" (Bachman, 2014). Supporters of this argument point to the thousands of U.S. pilots who fly for foreign carriers or who have ended their careers in aviation as a result of such poor pay. Justin Bachman (2014) reveals there are likely thousands of pilots flying for foreign carriers eager to fly in the U.S. again, but only for better compensation than what is currently offered.

Although the latter argument may be convincing, I see the pilot shortage as more than a shortage of pay. The numbers are clear; there are simply not enough qualified pilots to meet current and future airline demand. With flight school enrollment down, growing training costs, high retirement rates for legacy carriers, and a dwindling pool of military pilots, there are simply not enough qualified pilots to meet the demand. Yes, poor wages have driven thousands of pilots out of the industry or to foreign carriers. However, even if all of these pilots returned to the U.S. industry, I do not think it would be enough to compensate for the 30,000 required to meet the demand in North America over the next 20 years. There are not enough pilots to meet the demand.

The regional airlines are extremely concerned that their pool of qualified pilots is drying up. After the 2009 Colgan accident in Buffalo, New York, pilots are now required to have at least 1,500 hours of flight time to fly for an airline. Graduates of a four year aviation university are only required to have 1,000 hours of flight time; due to greater training costs, these candidates are even more sparse. Regional airlines are concerned with these regulations, as in the past, they could legally hire candidates with as few as 250 hours. Now that the minimums have increased six fold, the number of pilots qualified or willing to reach such flight minimums has drastically decreased. Part of the issue with regional carriers especially is their traditionally low pay. A starting regional pilot can expect to make only $30,000, even after years of training and upwards of $80,000 in training costs ("The Coming," 2015). Regional airlines are also concerned that their lack of pilots may seriously degrade their operational performance. Many carriers, such as Republic Airways, are unable to staff their flights. As a result, they are being sued by Delta Air Lines, and have since filed for bankruptcy ("Delta Sues," 2015).

The best solution for regional carriers is to raise wages. Providing more attractive compensation packages will draw more pilots into the industry and motivate aspiring aviators to become airline pilots. This will be difficult, as regional carriers will have to negotiate with legacy carriers for higher wages or cut expenses in other areas, if possible. Another solution is for airlines to increase their promotional and outreach programs. Visiting high schools and universities will certainly increase the appeal of the profession and encourage students to pursue the career. Establishing more pathway programs and incentives may also help. Although unlikely, if regional carriers could provide more direct compensation and oversight of collegiate aviation candidates, they would have much larger pilot pools to draw from. For instance, airlines could sign conditional offers with students and in return pay for a certain amount of training while providing guidance and support along the way.

In terms of unionization, ALPA is generally the most common airline pilot union utilized in the industry today. However, many other positions in the airline industry are part of the Teamsters Union. The Teamsters Airline Division has agreements with the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), the American Aviation Labor Alliance (AALA), and more to protect thousands of ramp agents, pilots, and air traffic controllers in the industry ("Teamsters," n.d.). For aviation mechanics, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Organization represents thousands of mechanics from Southwest and Alaska Air Lines ("Aircraft Mechanics," n.d.). The aviation industry has hundreds of unions to protect virtually every position.

Professionalism is a mentality which demands a willingness to learn, take direction, and accept criticism with stride. It requires one to act in a manner which reflects personal and organizational goals. To be deemed a professional, one must exhibit a high degree of knowledge and experience in a given subject, which will be reflected through behavior and job performance. It should be easy to spot a professional given their behavior on the job and around co-workers, as well as off the job. A professional is always learning, always pushing for excellence and perfection, while leaving personal vendettas and egos at home. They will set aside personal beliefs and do their best to work with anyone to complete an objective. In aviation, a professional will always place safety as the primary concern and do everything in their power to maintain it, regardless of financial or managerial pressure.

A lack of professionalism was exhibited in the film when an airline captain was caught falsifying weight and balance data for a commercial flight to make things easier. The pilot blatantly disregarded safety, company policy, and failed to exercise Crew Resource Management (CRM) as his first officer voiced his safety concerns. A true professional would not have falsified the document, would have listened to the concerns of his first officer, and placed safety as the greatest priority. Professionalism was also lacking with management as they falsified duty time in order to get a fatigued pilot to fly one more leg home. They threatened the pilot with the fact that he would spend even more time away from home, even though he was extremely tired and likely unfit to fly. A professional manager would also place safety first, and sympathize with the pilot instead of issuing threats for not completing the mission.

I assert that the regional airline compensation structure is the primary cause of these voids in professionalism. A serious conflict of interest exists when an airline is compensated based on the completion of a flight. This places pressure on upper management, pilots, and other employees to get the job done so the airline will be paid. This is a major safety conflict, as it provides the motivation to turn a blind eye and do anything possible to keep aircraft moving. The situations where professionalism was lacking in the film seemed to be derived from the desire to keep the aircraft on time and get them to the destination, regardless of safety. Factoring in the thin profit margins provided by their contracts, compensation based on flight completion is a recipe for unsafe practices and a lack of professionalism.

I intend on maintaining my professionalism by continuing to develop my flying and decision making skills. I feel that if a pilot is not learning, he or she will not perform to the best of their ability. It is impossible to know everything, but making decisions with more knowledge and experience will certainly assist with situations which may arise in the future. I also intend on maintaining professionalism by placing safety as my first priority, regardless of any external pressure. Jobs can be replaced; people can not. It can be hard in situations where a lot of money is on the line or in extreme cases a job, but it is the duty of all airmen to operate with the highest degree of safety possible. That is professionalism in aviation.

References

Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.amfanational.org/

Anderson, B. (2016, January 28). Pilot shortage threatens to slow U.S. airline growth. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/oliverwyman/2016/01/28/pilot-shortage-threatens-to-slow-u-s-airline-growth/#30f5cc11bb6e

Bachman, J. (2014, February 11). Yes, there's a pilot shortage: Salaries start at $21,000. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-02-11/pilot-shortage-regional-airlines-are-cutting-flights

The coming U.S. pilot shortage is real. (2016, February 16). Retrieved from http://aviationweek.com/commercial-aviation/coming-us-pilot-shortage-real

Delta sues Republic Airways over flights lost to pilot dispute. (2015, October 6). Retrieved from http://www.ibj.com/articles/55195-delta-sues-republic-airways-over-flights-lost-to-pilot-dispute

Teamsters Airline Division. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://teamsterair.org/