Tue, May 31, 2022
DePete Calls Claims of Imminent Pilot Shortages False Rhetoric
In a letter to FAA Administrator Billy Nolen, Airline Pilots Association president, Joseph G. DePete (pictured), excoriated Republic Airlines’s proposal to lower the the required pilot minimums for its R-ATP program from 1,500 hours to 750.
Republic’s R-ATP program is a proposed, closed-loop system that the airline would operate within its subsidiary, LIFT Academy training program. Republic claims the benefit of the closed-loop system is that pilots selected to participate are trained entirely in house, in keeping with Part 141 training standards specific to ATP requirements.
The requested exemption would allow selected civilian pilots who complete the R-ATP program to apply for an airline transport pilot certificate concurrently with a multiengine airplane type rating with a minimum of 750 hours of total flight time. Republic cites concerns over future pilot shortage as rationale for the proposal.
DePete refutes Republic’s claims, stating that talk of looming pilot shortages is false rhetoric, and an attempt to both distract and deceive the flying public, and lay the groundwork for weakening Congress’s clear intent when it strengthened First Officer qualification and training requirements in 2010. DePete goes on to say, “Any assertion about a lack of available pilots is simply not based on fact.” DePete’s assertions are substantiated by a joint, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics/Federal Aviation Administration report that posits there are more than enough certified pilots to meet current demand.
In his letter, DePete, who attests that over the past ten years, the United States has produced more than enough pilots to meet airline hiring demand, accuses Republic Airways of attempting to circumvent the clear intent of the law, and suggests the airline’s proposal is “a solution in search of a problem.”
More News
The Industry Continues to be Rocked By Some Questionable Operations Recent investigations and a great deal of data has resulted in ANN’s SportPlane Resource Guide’s rep>[...]
Make Sure You NEVER Miss A New Story From Aero-News Network Do you ever feel like you never see posts from a certain person or page on Facebook or Instagram? Here’s how you c>[...]
Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) An airport lighting facility providing vertical visual approach slope guidance to aircraft during approach to landing by radiating a directio>[...]
Airport Marking Aids Markings used on runway and taxiway surfaces to identify a specific runway, a runway threshold, a centerline, a hold line, etc. A runway should be marked in ac>[...]
Aero Linx: The Skyhawk Association The Skyhawk Association is a non-profit organization founded by former Skyhawk Pilots which is open to anyone with an affinity for the A-4 Skyhaw>[...]