The airline industry is weathering a pilot shortage that’s hitting regional carriers like Indianapolis-based Republic Airways especially hard. Republic filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February, citing its inability to fill cockpits as one source of its troubles. But the flip side of the shortage is this: It’s a good time to be entering the profession.
“It’s a job-seeker’s market right now,” said John Mott, the interim head of Purdue University’s School of Aviation and Transportation Technology. He also serves as director of the school’s Advanced Aviation Analytics Institute for Research. Regional carriers—traditionally a place young pilots launch their careers—are offering higher pay and benefits to lure candidates. And in Indianapolis and elsewhere, aviation schools say they’re working more closely than ever with airlines, creating a direct pipeline from classroom to cockpit.
Read more from the Indianapolis Business Journal.