Chicken or the Egg?
By Robert Mark on December 12th, 2006I’m finishing up a new McGraw Hill book, a Professional Pilot Career Guide. The workload is heavy, but the research has been eye-opening, especially in light of the changes to the aviation industry since 9/11.
The good news is that job opportunities for pilots are expanding at a rapid rate, many even outside the United States.
Something that really caught me cold though was my look at flight instruction, a piece of the industry that I hold near and dear. I’ve managed to keep my instructor certificates current since I picked the first one up in 1975.
Back in the old days, flight instructors were lucky to earn a few bucks per hour on top of aircraft rental rates that hovered around the $25 per hour.
Today aircraft rental rates are easily five or six times as high. More importantly, the amount of money flight schools charge for the teacher has zoomed as well with some adding $50 ot $60 to each flight hour for an instructor’s time.
What I found absolutely amazing is that although the instructor’s gross revenue numbers look much better than 30 years ago, the net to the pilot has not changed much.
There’s something wrong with that.
But I’m not planning on pointing the finger at my flight school clients here. I’m looking directly at the flight instructors because it’s really their fault the pay is so low and will most likely remain low in the forseeable future.
I had lunch a few weeks ago with a flight school owner and the topic of instructor pay came up, probably because I mentioned it I’m sure. “We don’t pay instructors much because we don’t need do,” this fellow said. “Flight instructors would work for nothing because all they care about is logging time.”
And why should I care you might ask?
Because I think that any time a pilot sells him or herself at below industry wages, they do great harm to the industry itself, as well as to their fellow pilots, like the ones who will come later.
I also think they can potentially cause severe harm to the flight school that employs them because they have very little inherent loyalty to the company. A lack of loyalty can make people do stupid things at times.
Most instructors will never raise the issue of money because they want the work so badly. Without flight instructing time, how will they gather the hours to win that coveted corporate or airline job?
Constant instructor turnover is annoying at a minimum to any business owner because it ultimately reflects on the quality of the service that school can provide. But it also reflects on the industry as a whole with the people to whom we try to sell million dollar aircraft.
Looking further down the road, how can pilots possibly expect top wages in an industry where they allowed themselves to be used as virtual, though willing, slaves in order to climb the ladder?
And how can a flight school operator claim to run a serious business when they refuse to pay employees a living wage?
At this point though, I’m not certain which came first.
Mr. or Ms. Flight School owner … What does it say about your company and the service you provide to the industry as a whole when you pay little more than minimum wage to employees – aviation professionals – to whom others are trusting their lives?
And Mr or Ms. Flight Instructor … What does it say about your dedication to your chosen profession if you’re willing to offer your services for practically free? Is it all you think you’re worth?
What does this say about the industry to pilots coming down the line now? It’s a great job someday if you’re willing to sell yourself early on?
And in case someone pipes in with “That’s the way it will always be,” let me simply say “Bunk!”
Luckily, a few flight schools in the country are trying to change some of this crazy equation by offering instructors in-kind opportunities, like paying for additional certificates and aircraft type ratings that make it worth their wages. They call it an honest day’s wages for an honest day’s pay.
It’s not the best solution … but it’s a major step in the right direction, for the companies, their employees and most of all for the people learning to fly.
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December 16th, 2006 at 8:57 pm
I look forward to the new book. It will be nice to have a prespective of the hiring outlook post 9/11
December 19th, 2006 at 8:20 pm
I was actually pretty surprised at just how good the market for pilots is becoming.
I knew things were going to turn around because of the large numbers of retirements, but the numbers of new airplanes being delivered and those scheduled for delivery have unplugged the dam, I think.
I wrote about fractional companies and light jets this time too. Those didn’t even exist when I wrote the first edition in 96.