Airlines are lobbying for a change to federal regulations that could put one pilot in the cockpit

Not feeling well-disposed to that idea. Two pilots might be more than necessary but if you want to maintain near-100% reliability (and I think we do), you need gold-plated service. If there's a pilot shortage, give them a raise, spend money on recruiting and training, add the extra cost to the airfare.

 

Spirit Airlines is looking to hire more pilots at the back of Home Depots

 

I guess if you disclose before you book that this is a One-Pilot craft, then consumers can make the decision for themselves, but the problem is airline prices for double pilot craft will increase to out of control prices. That's probably a good reason why the FAA hasn't already given some flexibility here. I would assume the only airlines that would be doing this would be Sun Country, Frontier, Spirit, etc. because those are the airlines that have the most issues with pilots timing out. Can't see AA, Delta, etc. taking that kind of risk, but I can see them jacking up their rates because of it.

 

Totally opposed to this.

 

Yes, I absolutely want to be mentally calculating my utility function with regard to which airplane safety regs I'm willing to pay for when I buy my ticket - Hayek figured out this is exactly the way the world works most efficiently.

 

[lots of modern derp political logic] Well sheeple, we've had a number of crashes where a plane had two pilots, so obviously, we should willingly move the industry to one pilot. But "they" don't want to consider the safer option. [/lots of modern derp political logic]

 

I work with airlines so there are a few things to consider with this proposal.

1. Starting wages for pilots are pathetic. They more or less make less than minimum wage in some states when you account for all time spent during a work day. It's a completely thankless job at the start. The incentive is that as you accrue years and are rated to flyer larger planes, you can get huge bumps in your salary. It's all tied to union contracts but the raises get quite larger down the road. But the fundamental problem still exists. Starting pay is so low that a lot of people can't afford to even start a career in aviation. Beyond starting pay, you have to deal with the cost of school and accruing 1500 hours of flight time before you can even start making poverty wages.

2. Covid completely decimated pilot ranks. When covid grounded the industry, a lot of pilots took early retirement deals so a lot of senior pilots left the industry. Not only did pilots leave, but senior trainers left as well. We're actually dealing with a shortage of experienced trainers right now so we simply can't train pilots fast enough. But airlines everywhere are dealing with huge pilot shortages. And because of the shortages, existing pilots are working to their absolute max hours which is causing faster burnout.

3. Airline margins are terrible. It's a low margin business that has huge boom and bust cycles. Boosting pilot pay simply isn't realistic for some airlines right now. That's why you're seeing renewed pushes for consolidation in the industry. Airlines are simply trying to scale up pilots and aircraft by purchasing other airlines.

So in short, this is simply a last gasp effort to both alleviate the pilot shortage while avoiding massive changes to pay structure for junior pilots. The FAA has refused to reduce the 1500 hour requirement and flight school costs an exorbitant amount of money (close to 6 figures in some cases). And all of this to make very little money on some regional jet operation.

Personally, I dont like this proposal because its kicking the can down the road. The tech on modern jetliners is probably good enough to support one pilot in many instances but the real solution is lowering the cost of flight school and finding more efficient ways to train new pilots. It also might be worth creating a new visa category for foreign pilots to work for US airlines. Unlike most industries, aviation is governed by a lot of international treaties so English is mandatory in virtually all countries and training requirements are standardized by IATA.

I'd also say that pay has to go up but everyone would have to accept that ticket prices will go up (by a solid amount). And no one is ready for that so the realistic solution is finding ways to increase the supply of pilots rather than switching to one pilot aircraft.

 

nobody should fly if they care about the planet. there, that should take care of the problem

 

What could go

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Capitalism is supposed to create amazing customer experience. How are our airlines so ****ed in America but not other capitalist societies? Our airlines become less and less consumer friendly every year. I don't get it. Why are we trying to go to space when I cant even sit comfortably on a flight to NY? I have to CROSS MY FINGERS for a Dreamliner while also crossing my fingers that the flight wont get delayed or canceled or get stuck taxi-ing for 9hrs. **** I hate flying.

 

Spirit line item fee: add a pilot to your trip!
Spirit line item fee: add life insurance in case your pilot falls asleep.

 

Pilot shortages is a problem globally. This isn't unique to the US. The reason why the US is such a focal point is that other countries generally mirror FAA rules. So if the FAA allowed single pilot flights, the rest of the world would eventually follow.

And if you think the US is bad, go try flying in Europe and Asia. Low cost airlines completely dominate other regions. North America is probably the only market where legacies actually operate a more premium product in all classes than LCCs.

 

You speak at me like I haven't flown domestic several times and absolutely hated the experience every single time. I don't care about what, why, how - I just want it fixed. I'm 6ft 4. Let me ****ing sit like a human. I shouldn't get overwhelming anxiety when I want to piss or have my pee-pee felt by some highschool dropout at TSA. Let me LIVE, bro.

 

these are private companies that can do what they want. if you want legroom, start your own airline

 

I own stock in 1. It's private? And why they always asking ME for bailout money? They beg for money more than TAMU.

 

Your original post was about how other countries don't have these problems and my point is that every other country is worse. At least in the US you can pay for a first class product with a larger seat and extra leg room (or just regular extra leg room seats). In Europe, that stuff barely exists. it's all LCCs with 28-30 inch seat pitch.

If you all want a return to the old days of 36 inch seat pitch as a standard, then you have to go back to 1970s regulated government pricing to make the math work. You're looking at a near doubling of ticket prices. You're better off just paying for domestic first class.

TSA on the other hand is a major problem that no one has the political will to fix.

 

What if the only pilot has the fish?