As a nationwide pilot shortage continues, affecting airlines from cancellations and delays to ending certain routes altogether, flight schools are looking to recruit the next wave of aviators.
According to the flight tracking website Flight Aware, there were over 2,000 canceled flights in the past week and 21% of all flights were delayed.
Major carriers are snatching up pilots where they can. That may help their operations, but it hurts regional flights.
The Regional Airline Association (RAA), which represents regional airlines that provide 43% of scheduled passenger flights in the U.S., issued a statement last week pushing back against suggestions that enough pilots are coming through the system.
“As major airlines hire more pilots than ever, including enough pilots to cover increased sick calls and avoid other disruptions, they draw from regional airlines,” the RAA said. “In turn, regional airlines find inadequate new pilots being produced to replace those departures.”
With National Aviation Week taking place from Aug. 19 to 25, some flight schools are using it as an opportunity to highlight the pilot shortage and encourage more people to join their ranks.
That’s where All In Aviation in Henderson enters. It’s a private flight school with instructors operating out of Henderson Executive Airport and North Las Vegas Airport.
The company is offering a discount for National Aviation Week for first-time flyers to take a one-hour discovery flight lesson.
Cost is often a barrier for some to enter the aviation industry, with pilot licenses ranging from thousands all the way to tens of thousands of dollars to obtain, depending on location and aircraft.
Hoping to lure potential pilots in, All In Aviation’s promotion for the week costs $172 for a first-time lesson, plus a minimum 2-hour instructor fee of $200. The deal only lasts through Aug. 25.
With pilots in such high demand, the return on investment could be lucrative, albeit in several years’ time.
“The airlines are- they're struggling,” said Braden DeBenedictis, a flight instructor. “We can see all these cancellations and flights being moved right now. They're actually up towards $50,000 plus signing bonuses to be their pilots. They need it, they need it right now.”
The pipeline to becoming a commercial airline pilot typically starts with small planes like what All In Aviation trains on. Those students would then become flight instructors and work their way up over the course of several years to the larger aircraft.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the airline industry is expected to need 14,500 pilots a year for the rest of the decade. Many of those pilots would replace those who are retiring or transferring to other occupations.
With the pandemic, many people chose to shift careers completely. Becoming a private pilot is no exception. All In Aviation said they’ve seen a surge in private pilot training.
“The freedom of being a pilot, in general, is amazing,” said Carl May, director of flight operations at All In Aviation. “So if you have any sort of passion for it, or interested in it at all, it's worth exploring.”