Increasing Retirement Age Won’t Solve Pilot Shortage

While industry was commending Congress and President Bush for changing the Age 60 rule just before Christmas, adding another five years of possible service for airline pilots, pilot advocates say it will do little to address the critical pilot shortage experienced worldwide. Related Story “The Regional...

For immediate service; more information; and multi-user access (site license), non-profit organization, educational institute pricing, contact Karen Garner kgarner@accessintel.com at (301) 354-1612.

This story is only available to paid subscribers. Please login below with your username and password if you are a subscriber.

Username:
Password:
	What is my password?

Subscribe     Trial

While industry was commending Congress and President Bush for changing the Age 60 rule just before Christmas, adding another five years of possible service for airline pilots, pilot advocates say it will do little to address the critical pilot shortage experienced worldwide. Related Story
“The Regional Airline Association commends the President for signing into law and both houses of Congress for unanimously passing legislation to move up the mandatory pilot retirement age from 60 to 65”, said RAA President Roger Cohen. “RAA strongly endorsed the need for the measure, particularly since regional airlines have been dedicating significant resources in recruiting and training pilots in order to meet customer demand.”
The new law, Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act, includes provisions to ensure continued safety as the mandatory retirement age raises to 65 it also includes requirements for pilots who have reached age 60 to: have a first-class medical certificate renewed every six months; continue to participate in FAA pilot training and qualification programs; and be administered a line check every six months.
In addition the new law requires international flights departing from the United States to have at least one pilot under the age of 60, thus applying international standards. In addition, the increased pilot age limit is not retroactive, and therefore does not allow pilots who reached age 60 prior to enactment to serve as a pilot unless they are employed by an air carrier as a required flight deck crew member or they are newly hired on or after the date of enactment without credit for prior service.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) issued a new estimate that the industry may need 17,000 new pilots annually owing to expected industry growth and retirements.
"Increasing the retirement age to 65 will help, but it can't be the only solution,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA Director General and CEO. “It's time to ring the warning bell. We must re-think pilot training and qualification to further improve safety and increase training capacity. The industry is concerned that there are no global standards for training concepts or regulation. Pilot training has not changed in 60 years - we are still ticking boxes with an emphasis on flight hours."
IATA supports the competency-based approach of multi-crew pilot licensing (MPL) training programs, according to a report in last week’s Air Safety Week, sister publication to Regional Aviation News. Unlike traditional pilot training, MPL focuses, from the beginning, on training for multi-pilot cockpit working conditions. The program requires 240 hours of flying or simulator time and takes about a year, if students pass competency tests, to place someone in an airline job. It also makes better use of simulator technology.
IATA launched the IATA Training and Qualification Initiative (ITQI) to support a global approach to MPL implementation. "Our goal is to increase the pool of candidates and training capacity while improving standards," said Bisignani. As part of ITQI, IATA will host a database to track the progress of MPL cadets and allow the industry to make training adjustments, if necessary. IATA also called for greater cooperation with governments. In China, IATA is working with the government to develop the syllabus and incorporate MPL into national regulation.
Europe was among the first regions to adopt MPL and Australia and China are moving ahead with implementation. The MPL is not favored by pilots unions which have criticized the truncated training program. At an industry conference in August, ALPA President Captain John Prater warned that airlines have become too eager to fill cockpits with inexperienced crews. Related Story www.aviationtoday.com/ran/categories/commercial/16493.html
Wall Street Journal Reporter Scott McCartney indicated that aviation experts “are concerned that less-experienced pilots may not perform as well in emergencies or may be more prone to mistakes.” But other studies say older pilots may be just as prone to accidents having grown complacent, according to his article.
Pilot shortages were the focus of major general assignment news coverage with Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal joining the Fort Worth Star Telegram and National Public Radio in reporting that the problem is felt most acutely by regionals which have been forced to compromise hiring standards. Related Story
Newsweek reported that the need for new pilots is “a boom unmatched since the advent of jet travel in the 1950s. Over the next 10 years, if current estimates hold true, almost three times as many pilots will enter the industry worldwide. The magazine quoted analysts criticizing current training systems, established in the 1950s, as out of date. It said training should no longer rely on the number of hours a trainee logs flying solo in single-engine aircraft. Instead they want to see more simulator time, an emphasis on flight schools versus in-house training programs, as well as measures to shorten the trainee-to-cockpit pipeline.
RAA's Cohen also questioned old training requirements. “The notion that you need X amount of hours in a Cessna 172 in order to move up in today's environment with today's technology and tools is wrong," he told McCartney. "Someone with fewer hours but better hours, quality hours in modern training, may be more capable."
WSJ pointed to the European multicrew pilot licenses (MPL), which does just that and graduated its first class destined for Scandinavian-based Sterling Airlines, and a second class of Chinese cadets destined for their home market. He indicated American Eagle hired one sixth of its total rank of 3,000 pilots last year alone, lowering its minimums from 800 to 600 hours and even considering 500-hour pilots compared to the 1,500-hour norm the regional airline industry demanded a few years ago. McCartney pointed out Federal Aviation Administration requirements to fly as a captain sets minima at 1,500 hours, about two years of airline experience. He also quoted Air Inc as expecting requirements to drop to FAA licensing minimums at 250 hours for co-pilots. Shortages, said Kit Darby, who heads Air Inc., mean higher salaries as well as higher costs as airlines resort to paying for preliminary training.