Piloting has always been Weinstein’s `dream` career.
After more than a decade as a teacher, Weinstein heard more and more about the commercial pilot shortage.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic caused Weinstein’s path to realizing his dream to once again encounter obstacles, because the stagnation of the global aviation industry delayed the careers of newcomers like him.
Joshua Weinstein, who is training to be a pilot for ExpressJet, USA.
Some people with experience in the aviation industry have predicted this scenario.
Similar to Weinstein, Archibald’s career path was also arduous.
About a year later, Archibald found work as a private pilot and maintained this job for 15 years.
According to NY Times commentator Niraj Chokshi, enthusiasm for the profession is the driving force that motivates pilots to spend many years participating in harsh training programs, trying to achieve the minimum number of flight hours and meet the necessary standards.
Weinstein estimates it cost him about $50,000-$70,000 to learn to fly, while at ExpressJet, new pilots typically only earn about $36,000 in their first year.
Many pilots borrow tens of thousands of dollars to cover training costs, and it can take years to pay off the debt.
Due to a series of challenges before pilots enter the profession, airlines in recent years have been extremely worried about recruiting enough pilots, to the point of having to take steps to ensure a stable human resource.
Boeing CEO last year also identified the pilot shortage as `one of the biggest challenges` facing the aviation industry.
`Historically, the majority of civilian pilots were former military pilots. However, the armed forces have recently increased the minimum term of service, making the majority of civilian pilots in the past 10 years
The pilot shortage has been going on for a long time, but has often been pushed back by events such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the 2008 Great Recession and the Air Force’s decision to raise the retirement age for pilots from 60 to 65.
Although air routes have been restored somewhat after Covid-19 eased in many areas, the industry’s activity is still only about a quarter of last year, according to airport security data.
To prepare for the uncertain future, major US airlines are stockpiling billions of dollars in cash.
`A lot of factors are still at play. Obviously the number of pilots cannot increase at this time, while retirements are still coming, time is ticking,` Wiggins said.
Weinstein understands the difficulties.
Even as Weinstein prepared to reach his dream of sitting in the cockpit, ExpressJet announced in May that training for him and dozens of other pilots had been postponed.
Weinstein and Archibald remain in contact with former colleagues, looking forward to what the next few months will look like and how employers will act, as well as how many jobs will be preserved after the federal relief packages run out.
Even so, Weinstein insists all the effort is worth it, regardless of the outcome.
`I was recruited to an airline, got a job and fulfilled my dream. A part of me told myself that I should never regret that period, because I put my effort into something and succeeded.
