Market Intelligence: -Airline Hiring

Airline in Germany Indicates Enough Pilot Supply

Lufthansa, Germany’s flag carrier and the country’s largest airline, said that it still has extra pilots, flight attendants, and aircraft which includes 14 A380s currently parked in Spain.

“We have not pushed ourselves to our operational limits when it comes to capacity. We are aiming for healthy yield management,” said Chief Executive, Carsten Spohr during Lufthansa Group’s First Quarter Results call with Analysts.

But Mr. Spohr did mention that the industry was facing challenges “The upcoming summer will be a major operational challenge for the whole industry,”.“Last week, total bookings exceeded 2019 levels for the first time,” Spohr said, adding that April 26 was the strongest day for bookings since the pandemic began. “Customers are increasingly confident that the crisis is over.”

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UK Airline Cuts 10% of its Flight Between March and October, Grapples with the Increased Demand

British Airways said it is cutting 10 per cent of its flights between March and October due in part to a shortage in air crew. This means that the forecasted rise to 85% of pre pandemic level this year will go down to 80%. Due to the pandemic, the airline slashed around 10,000 staff which makes coping with the demand now difficult for the airline. The airline previously announced plans to hire roughly 6,000 staff.

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Hungarian Airline Announces Plan to to Hire 6,600 New Pilots by 2030

Wizz Air, a Hungarian ultra-low-cost carrier, during the Pilot Expo 2022 in Berlin, Germany, announced its plans to hire 20,000 new employees by 2030, 33% or 6,600 of which will be new pilots.

“The plan is to grow three times in just nine years and it is not just a dream, this is one of the KPIs that we have to deliver. For our recruitment team it means that we have to recruit one person every hour, which represents our goal of 2,000 new hires per year,” said Ewa Danecka-Latka, Head of Crew Resources of Wizz Air.

“As we need a lot of new pilots and a lot of new cabin crew members joining our operations, this is what we are preparing ourselves for,” Danecka-Latka added. “Currently we have 42 bases all over the world and they are located in 18 countries. So, there is a huge number of locations that a pilot or a cabin crew member can be assigned.”

The airline previously announced it is expanding fleet with the addition of 500 aircraft by the end of the decade.

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US Airline Pilot Association Launches Webpage To Share Thoughts on Pilot Shortage

ALPA’s Insights on Pilot Shortage and Recommendations on Sustaining Robust Pilot Pipeline

US based Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) shared insights and recommendations on Sustaining a Robust Pilot Pipeline in its recent article entitled “More Than Enough Pilots to Meet U.S. Airline Demand”.

“Over the past eight years, the United States has produced more than enough certificated pilots to meet airline hiring demands and compensate for retirements, even as new and more rigorous pilot training standards were enacted to enhance safety. In fact, there are currently about 1.5 certificated pilots relative to demand, according to Federal Aviation Administration and Bureau of Labor Statistics data,” the association said. It also cited the following statements from airlines executives quashing pilot shortage.

  • “We are not having any problem at all at Delta hiring and getting great pools of candidates, ” said Ed Bastian, Delta Chief Executive Officer on January 13, 2022.
  • “We’re going to have plenty of pilots. The biggest issue that we’re dealing with is the throughput of pilots and getting them through training,” said Robert Isom, American President and Incoming Chief Executive Officer on January 20, 2022.
  • “I think we’ll have plenty of access to pilots and flight attendants. So I feel good that our staffing plan is going to come to fruition. And then the question just is, as we bring the people on and we mitigate the premium pay, we mitigate some of the regular operations, we run a more stable operation, can we—will we see different behaviors? And if we do, that gives us upside, ” said Gary Kelly, Southwest Chairman and Chief Executive Officer on January 20, 2022.

To save jobs within the airline industry, with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Federal government provided subsidies and financial assistance to airlines. Three huge financial support were provided totaling to $63 billion. “Congress passed the Payroll Support Program, which kept thousands of pilots and other aviation workers on the job and off unemployment. This helped keep the U.S. economy going, global supply chains open, and critical medical personnel and equipment moving to fight COVID-19. It also positioned the aviation industry to be ready for recovery,” said ALPA.

On Training and Safety

ALPA emphasized its full support to the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010 otherwise known as the 1,500-hour rule. While companies tend to ask for Congress support to reduced the minimum flight hours requirement to become an airline pilot, ALPA asserts that such flight hour rule plays a crucial role in reducing accidents. “[…] since the law’s enactment, Part 121 passenger airline fatalities have decreased by 99.8 percent,” ALPA wrote.

“Looking at the numbers, data shows that airlines make operational decisions based on the profitability of each route. Past practice proves that if you pay airline pilots commensurate with their training and experience, not only will you get qualified candidates but also a robust pipeline of future aviators.

Regulations that enhance safety and that have led to the U.S. aviation system’s exemplary safety record should never be used as the scapegoat for profit and should be untouchable by special interests. ALPA will defend against any action that would erode airline safety standards.”

ALPA’s Recommendations to Maintain a Robust Pilot Pipeline

  • Invest in putting more pilots in the U.S. pipeline with several incentives, including helping students pay for expensive flight training costs, subsidizing loans for flight training in conjunction with two-year and four-year aviation colleges and universities; and exempting students from paying interest on loans while in school.
  • Align federal funding to bring pilot academic education and training to the level of other highly skilled professions.
  • Provide substantial grants to expand aviation and flight degree programs.
  • Increasing the number of students who graduate from a certified two- or four-year aviation program who obtain the license needed to become an airline pilot.
  • Increase awareness of aviation job opportunities with today’s emerging workforce, including the support and mentorship they need to enter the profession with confidence.
  • Recruit a more diverse workforce, providing role models to ensure minorities and women can see themselves as the airline pilot workforce of the future.
  • Increase Title IV funding for hiring professional pilot graduates from colleges and universities that serve underrepresented communities, such as the historically black colleges and universities.
  • Provide substantial grants to minority-serving educational institutions to start aviation programs that serve underrepresented communities and introduce them to aviation experiences.

Source: ALPA

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US Airlines Pilot Shortage Attracting Foreign Pilots

US pilot shortage continues to worsen and this has pushed US airlines to hire more foreign pilots – poaching them from airlines in the country and luring them with higher salaries and bonuses. From a point of view of some foreign pilots, such circumstance is an opportunity for them to pursue their dreams working in major US airlines. U.S. immigration lawyers report a surge in inquiries and visa applications from pilots based in countries where traffic is still recovering from pandemic lows.

The pilot shortage is causing the continuing cancellation and reduction of flights in the US. Airports, especially regional ones, are seeing decrease in passenger capacity because airlines have cut, if not limited, flights. The demand is through the roof and airlines are desperate to hire more pilots and as fast as it could. For example, American Airlines announced plans to hire 2,000 pilots this year. Others are offering sign in bonuses for long overdue first officers – US Regional Airline Offers $80,000 in Bonuses for Direct Entry Captain.

A widening supply-demand gap had created an unprecedented opportunity for experienced foreign pilots, said Ana Barbara Schaffert, lawyer at California-based AG Immigration Group, as cited in an Analysis Article of Reuters.

“While the US has a major shortage, in the rest of the world pilots are out of jobs,” she emphasized.

“She has received more than 8,000 requests for consultation in recent months, and is screening over 2,000 resumes from pilots seeking to immigrate to the United States – up more than 90% from before COVID-19,” according to Reuters.

Further, American Airlines Group, in April, told investors the pilot attrition rate at its regional carriers was outpacing the hiring rate and that draws interest from pilots in Canada, Europe, Africa, and Asia where traffic is still recovering, said Carmen Arce, an attorney at Florida-based Arce Immigration Law as cited by Reuters.

Interesting to note is that the Federal Aviation Administration says the number of foreign-licensed pilots seeking U.S. certificates required to fly large jets increased to 718 in 2021, up about 24% from 2019.

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