Early this morning, Reuters runs a story from the Paris Airshow. The event, traditionally a bridge between pilots and companies, introduced an odd change to its attendance policy this year: Free admission for anyone without a job .
The move is an attempt to spur enthusiasm in the aviation industry, in the hope of drawing more people into the cockpit and the maintenance hangar. But all the free airshows in the world can’t change one fundamental fact: There’s no shortage of pilots.
Just ask ALPA, the Airline Pilots Association — an association that protects pilots. According to their number, there are more than enough pilots too meet the needs of every airline. The problem is not the number of people certified to fly the plane; In fact, the problem comes from the other side of the table: Too few companies are willing to pay pilots what they’re worth.
Instead of raising wages to attract talent, corporations seem content to keep wages low – even when they are far away. also low for pilots to actually work for them. At some point, when wages are so low, you should no longer stay in your industry. Why pilot when you can make the same (or more) money in a job that doesn’t require you to splash around the world?
There are too many pilots out there; ready, willing and able to fly the plane. What they lack is not the training, experience or money needed to attend the Paris Airshow. They lack the motivation, financial reasons to fly for action companies that are essential to anyone with aviation experience. Perhaps, instead of free tickets, Paris Airshow should try to encourage companies to pay more. That can help address the “shortage.”
