|
U.S. airlines tap army helicopter pilots to ease shortage
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Army pilot Shaun Perez spent ten hours flying an Apache helicopter over Afghanistan, providing gun cover for Special Forces soldiers on the ground as they hunted for high-value targets, guns and weapons.Returning to his base at dawn, he donned a fresh uniform before shutting himself into a small room to secure the next stage of his career - as a commercial airline pilot. He would win the job in a video interview that day in August 2017, joining hundreds of other U.S. military helicopter pilots who have taken attractive offers from domestic airlines trying ease a global pilot shortage. Perez took advantage of one of the tightest labor markets in the United States, created by years of slow hiring, a wave of pending retirements at major U.S. airlines, and Federal Aviation Administration rules that in 2013 increased the number of required training hours from 250 to 1,500. The industry’s aggressive recruitment of military helicopter pilots is one of the most striking examples yet of the contortions required to quickly train new commercial aviators since the FAA increased the minimum flying requirement. The pilot shortage threatens the industry’s growth just as travel demand booms. Posted by: Besoeker 2019-01-23 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=532655 |