Pilot Shortage
and Retention: Barriers and Solutions
founder and CEO of Anthelion Helicopters An opinion by Alex P. Chaunt, M
ake no mistake: our industry is going through changes of such magnitude that if they are ignored,
unquestioned, and misinterpreted, they will have severe and far-reaching consequences for all helicopter industry businesses and affiliated organizations. While some of us may not be feeling the consequences as much as others right now, that is not cause for relief. It is cause for awareness, planning, and change. As inevitably as the sun rises, we will all feel the effects of this seismic shift in the years to come. And those who do not prepare will face an uncertain future.
Let us also be clear from the outset that definitions are important. The term “pilot shortage” has been used out of context for many years, to the chagrin of many. Improperly defining the term has created misinterpretation, exaggeration, and erroneous statements. Overall, helicopter pilot numbers in the United States have been largely unchanged for the last 10 years, with a high of 15,566 in 2014 to a low of 15,033 in 2018 and an overall 3.5% variance. The number of new helicopter pilot licenses in the U.S. has a far more
pronounced decline, however, dropping 37% from a high of 3,754 in 2014 to a low of 2,367 in 2018. But these numbers do not tell us how many of these license holders, should they be commercially certificated, are actively involved in helicopter flying. They could have gone to fly in the fixed-wing world, taken a career break, or even left the industry altogether to pursue another line of work. The point is that statistics can tell us only so much, so they must be viewed with a skeptical, analytical, and educated mind. Another important number that is not answered by raw statistics alone is just how many of the new certificate holders will actually be staying and flying in the U.S. domestic market post-checkride. A big proportion of our flight schools, especially the large ones, gain a significant amount of their income from training foreign students. While some of them may stay for a year or so after school on a CPT/OPT program as active flight instructors, a lot will return home to fly in their native countries. This is an important aspect to consider when looking at the relative health of our active domestic pilot pool.
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