Your Flight to Disney World Could Get More EXPENSIVE

Air travel has been complicated lately.

Flying anywhere soon?

Winter storms caused a staggering number of flight cancellations over the holidays, ticket prices could increase this summer, and let’s not forget the ongoing saga of Southwest Airlines’ troubles. Even the Orlando International Airport made history last month with record-breaking crowds. But now it’s looking like travel complications could get worse.

According to CNN, a “tsunami of pilot retirements” is expected to hit the US airline industry soon. That could “further the nation’s pilot shortage, limiting flight availability for passengers and putting upward pressure on fares.”

Faye Malarkey Black, president and CEO of the Regional Airline Association, shared her concerns about the situation in a statement to Congress on Wednesday.

Flying can be tough

Currently, there is a nationwide, “severe and ongoing pilot shortage” that is decreasing the number of available flights and raising the cost of tickets. There are more than 500 planes just sitting idle because there aren’t enough pilots to fly them, some airlines have cut off flights to airports in smaller cities, and yet there is a strong demand for travel, only making things worse.

And that shortage isn’t expected to go away anytime soon. In the next 15 years, over half of our current pilots will reach 65, the mandatory age of retirement. And, according to CNN, “younger pilots are not making up for those aging out.”

©JetBlue Airways

Demand for travel post-pandemic has been astounding, and yet, many carriers still haven’t been able to get back to their pre-pandemic staffing levels. This, in part, has led to an overwhelming increase in fare pricing across the country.

Though airlines have been hiring pilots, some larger airlines have hired them from regional carriers, only complicating things further. More pilots earned licenses in 2022 than ever before, but it’s still not enough to keep up with demand.

Have you flown recently?

Some of that problem may have to do with the cost of training, which can be $80,000 (but closer to $200,000 when you include the cost of a bachelor’s degree). Plus, “accredited pilot training programs can’t access additional lending available through graduate aid programs to cover the higher costs,” according to Black.

But a union representing most US airline pilots has urged Congress not to change pilot qualification and training standards to address this shortage, arguing that some of those changes could compromise the safety of travelers.

Jason Ambrosi, President of the Air Line Pilots Association, argued that there are enough qualified pilots, but other factors are impacting the situation. Ambrosi insisted that airlines’ response to the pandemic is a major reason for the current situation, along with pilot pay and quality of life conditions.

According to CNN, there was already a significant pilot shortage, but during the pandemic, many airlines offered buyouts and early retirement packages to reduce spending. On top of that, the pandemic “interrupted the pipeline of new pilots.”

Terminal C at Orlando Airport

Given the shortages, the number of pilots that could be reaching retirement soon, and other factors, flying across the country could continue to come with some challenges.

We’ll continue to keep you up to date with all the latest, so stay tuned to AllEars for more.