Airline poaching
Would you believe that, in part, the genesis of the helicopter pilot shortage in 2022 began with an airplane crash in 2009? In February of that year, a Colgan Air flight crashed near Buffalo, New York, killing 49 people. That crash brought scrutiny on the 250-hour experience requirements for regional airline first officers. In 2013, once the smoke cleared, the FAA required the airlines to increase the first officer minimums from 250 hours to 1,500.
That rule change created an instant experience gap and snowball that rapidly caused the airlines to become so desperate for pilots that they did something unheard of: they looked to the ranks of military and civilian helicopter pilots. Seeing the looming shortage, the airlines got creative and in 2016 began actively recruiting helicopter pilots with “airline transition programs” that included large sign-on bonuses. According to reports, in 2017 alone, over 500 helicopter pilots were recruited to the airlines and that trend continues.
In short, with the traditional training pipelines (military and civil) producing fewer helicopter pilots, combined with more working helicopter pilots leaving the industry altogether, HR professionals, recruiters, and helicopter operators industry wide are left scratching their heads on how to attract and retain qualified helicopter pilots.
Insight: It appears that shortages are impacting working pilots as well. In a recent Rotorcraft Pro online survey, we asked pilots, “How are personnel shortages impacting you personally?” 50% checked the box that it was impacting them “Negatively: Fatigued and upsetting work / life balance.”
2021-2022 Salary & Benefits Survey
Rotorcraft Pro’s annual U.S. Pilot Salary & Benefits Survey was initially launched eight years ago in an effort to monitor and report trends on the salaries of pilots in the industry. Traditionally, surveys were sent directly to employers via snail mail in ballot form, then collected and tabulated. This old method did provide interesting results, but because employers are reluctant to reveal the exact salaries and benefits they provide, the sampling could be rather small and probably wasn’t always representative of the larger whole.
Online technologies have given us the ability to survey many working pilots and their employers, thus generating more participation throughout the industry. This year’s survey had excellent participation and obtained the latest information on helicopter pilots:
• What are their qualifications?
• What do they fly? •
In what sector do they fly?
• What ratings do they have? • How much do they make? •
What type of benefits do they receive?
We think you’ll find the answers to these questions revealing. The goal was for Rotorcraft Pro to interact with our readers in the industry by focusing on two main questions:
1. How much do helicopter pilots earn while plying their trade? 2. Are helicopter pilots generally satisfied with their place in the industry?
The answer to the first question is fairly easy to gather; all it requires is collecting and analyzing data. However, the second question is more personal and subjective. In addition to comparative analysis, that answer also requires introspection. Both employers and pilots want to know where they stand in relation to their peers in the industry. We hope our results will help you find answers for your specific situation.
rotorcraftpro.com
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