Delta, Southwest, and others are showing serious profits as traffic has increased, or has it? Airlines have really been reducing capacity too which means fuller airplanes. Regionals that are left are showing gains as well. This bodes well for the industry now but what is down the road?
A scant few years ago the FAA adopted the fly till age 65 rule. Now, those 65 year olds are starting to retire and that 5 year additional flexibility will be ebbed away in a couple years. Add to that the new flight hour and rest rule makes for another serious pilot shortage.
On top of that the 1500 hour right seat or co-pilot qualification may well be adopted by congress and if it is "game on" for a real serious pilot shortage. Another cause of this shortage will be fewer military pilots and this is the big one, FLIGHT TRAINING IS REALLY EXPENSIVE!
Yep, the cost of flight training has kept thousands out of the market due to the cost of fuel and instruction. Long gone are the wet $24 dollar an hour Cherokee 140s and Cessna 150s. I recall paying $1.33 a gallon for some 100 LL at Tucumcari on my way out to California in my Cardinal. Just a good memory now.
But you can save on some basic training.
