Why Be An Airline Pilot?

Present-day Considerations for An Aspiring Aviator

- Les Abend

One of my favorite jokes about the airline pilot profession involves a mother who brings her wide-eyed, grade-school age son into the cockpit for a visit. After the awestruck boy is given his tour, the mother asks her son if he would like to be an airline pilot when he grows up. The captain interjects and says simply, “You can’t do both.”

It’s certainly a tongue-and-cheek remark, but I would like to think my colleagues consider the implication a badge of honor if not a term of endearment. Maintaining a youthful spirit and a good sense of humor is a desirable attribute for an airline pilot.

In any case, much has been discussed about the upcoming pilot shortage. Although the major airlines are still finding qualified applicants, the regional airlines are already feeling the effects. Many are offering incentives in the form of sign-on bonuses, and some are providing employment-conditional loans to be applied toward flight training until such time the prospective pilot is qualified to fill the copilot seat of a regional jet.

For as long as I can remember, regional airlines (“commuters,” in my day) have been the internship for the industry. Their primary purpose of feeding passengers onto mainline carriers forces them to be competitive in order to obtain a viable contract with the majors. In that regard, compensation is at the bottom of their priority list.

Regional salaries, especially for new pilots, have always been paltry compared to the rest of the industry. But the experience operating in an airline environment is invaluable.