The fact that a shortage of pilots is coming was said even before the pandemic. It was predicted, but it seemed like something far away. And now, when the industry is recovering and showing growth, the lack of pilots has become very noticeable. And this is especially true for business aviation.
When covid-19 swept the whole world, the aviation industry suffered almost the most. The fleet was almost grounded. Airlines have suffered huge losses. Curiously, during the coronavirus pandemic, many pilots have been retired earlier, not just fired.
It's no secret that becoming a pilot is expensive and difficult. One must passion about flying to go through all these difficulties to get work in aviation. That is, at first, the organic influx of people simply decreased.
The shortage of pilots also happened because the military forces decreased the demand for pilots (and this was the significant source of qualified personnel for civil aviation) due to the widespread use of unmanned aerial vehicles.
Add to this the worth job offers from large airlines for experienced jet pilots.
So, the bottleneck that hinders the development of business aviation operators from "sales" has shifted to "production", that is, to the pilots: the aircraft may be available, but the pilot is not.
What to do in such a situation?
Until recently, the main lever of pressure on pilots was financial motivation. Now the US Jet Pilot Salary is an average of $94k.
However, many progressive operators are already developing their programs and switching to non-material motivation - they have become more attentive to working conditions. Flexible schedule and taking into account individual features of work.
An interesting "sandbox" idea for professional pilots came up with Advanced Air, LLC in partnership with Southwest Airlines. They agreed that cadets, having studied and trained on private jets, have the opportunity to continuously move up the career ladder and transit to work in airlines.
A different problem arose with the sales department of part 135 operators. Even considering the short planning horizon, it is easy to see on the chart that the aeroplane is free. How do you know if a suitable pilots are available?
Here could be a powerful conclusion. Stay tuned! Thank you :)