Pay More to Fly: Shortage of Airline Workers Equals Expensive Airfare

2020 was a bad year for the aviation industry. But this time around, travel demand isn’t the problem for US airlines. Now, US airlines have to deal with the lack of manpower. Despite the federal bailout designed to pay employees, airlines still have to deal with a shortage of airline workers. American Airlines even had to cancel flights in July due to pilot shortage.

The law of supply and demand will tell you that a low supply and high demand will result in higher prices. With TSA screenings almost similar to 2019’s numbers, and airlines struggling to keep up, this means that travelers can expect more expensive airline tickets soon.

Frontier is one of those airlines that’s already taking advantage of the recent surge in travel demand. This budget airline added COVID-related fees for what it claims to be additional costs in cleaning and sanitizing their planes.

According to Geoff Murray who is a partner at an aviation consulting company Oliver Wyman, “A lot of crew members will go back and pilots will go back to equipment that they may not have flown before”. This will require additional training from 6 to 10 weeks. Also, it takes some time to get furloughed staff back. Plus, you also have to account for those who opted out of the aviation industry.

Airline Workers Are Unwilling to Go Back to Work?

Aviation experts suggest that the shortage of airline workers is due to both increased unemployment and the federal aid payout. Plus, some workers are not happy with their current low wages that they opted for other opportunities outside the aviation industry.

For Allied Pilots Association, they see the current situation a bit differently. The union warned American Airlines that early retirements and the time needed to certify pilots will cause delays in getting pilots back. During the pandemic, 1,000 pilots accepted the early retirement package while 1600 were furloughed.