BobPatterson wrote:PDX88 wrote:BobPatterson wrote:
My reason for thinking about the ages of EAS pilots is that I have read (perhaps anecdotally ?) that a number of them are near or beyond retirement age for major airlines. I do not know the truth of that but, if it is true, then the "training pool" represented by EAS would not be as "massive" as might otherwise be assumed.
I'd like to learn more about this.
There are a few retired 121 pilots continuing their careers at 135s, but the overwhelming majority are young time building pilots that plan to move on to regionals, especially in the right seat. When SeaPort folded, there were a lot of us who had to find other 135s because we hadn't reached 1500 yet.
EAS routes are a great way for low hour pilots to reach 1500 hours in a little over a year. In the long term, ending EAS would delay hundreds of pilots from joining regionals. It may not be where the most pilots come from, but considering the already happening shortage of pilots, it's pretty massive to the regionals.
Thanks for the response. Another question or two:
What might be the effect on the new pilots if:
EAS was eliminated or severely cut back in the contiguous 48 states..........
AND
The 1,500 hour requirement was reduced to 1,200 or 1,000 for hiring at the regionals?
Fresh commercial pilots will have to find jobs like flight instruction, skydiving, pipeline patrol, or a part 135 that doesn't depend on EAS, which are very few.
Also, dual crew part 135 carriers are great for teaching CRM. Someone at a part 135 has been in a crew environment for most of their time flying an airplane, and has an easier time adapting to a regional flight deck than flight instructors, skydive, etc.
For the second question, if you graduate from an accredited college, you can meet restricted ATP mins at 1250 or 1000 hours depending on your degree. To reduce it for everyone, however, ATP mins need to drop below 1500, since an ATP is a requirement to fly for a 121 carrier. Unfortunately, I don't see that changing anytime soon. Even if it dropped to 1000, that still requires a time building job for a lengthy amount of time, so the 500 hour drop only eliminates 6-8 months of flying at a job you already have. The main issue isn't the 1500 hour requirement, it's the number of jobs available for pilots to reach 1500.