US Airlines Scramble to Train Pilots as Travel Demand Continues to Surge

Airlines can blame the lack of pilots for its recent number of canceled flights. Flight simulators from different parts of the US are in demand as airlines struggle to meet the recent surge in domestic travel. Though international travel remains low, domestic leisure travel reached 2019 levels. Airline executives are also noticing a small rebound in business travel this month.

The airline industry received a total of $54 billion in aid to keep the industry afloat. Despite the amount of funding received by airlines, some problems are inevitable.

Unfortunately, some pilots took early retirements while others are furloughed and need additional training before returning. Also, the reduced number of flights during the pandemic affected the pilots’ minimum takeoffs and landings, creating problems with their flying status. Unfortunately, it is not that simple to train pilots. Training pilots on new aircraft can take weeks while annual retraining can take a few days.

According to Bryan Terry who is the managing director and global aviation leader at Deloitte, “return to travel came faster than expected”. He also added that this puts pilot training in a “very tight timeline”.

Can Airlines Train Pilots on Time?

Southwest and American Airlines had a rough summer. Both airlines dealt with weather problems, staffing shortages, and even technical glitches that resulted in canceled or delayed flights. Casey Murray, president of Southwest Airlines Pilot Association said that “They came into the summer with very little margin”.

While Southwest’s recent flight schedule is similar to the summer of 2019, it had to cancel hundreds of flights until early July. Also, Southwest has around 500 first officers on temporary leave.

For American Airlines, the company is expected to finish pilot training by the end of summer. The company also expanded its training capacity to have most of its pilots ready by the end of June. American Airlines canceled their flights by 1% equivalent to roughly 1,000 flights.