Worldwide pilot shortage affects flight safety

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19806380/
"Although all airline pilots are trained to the same standards ...
there are certain intangibles that only come from experience,"
said Patrick Smith, a U.S.-based airline pilot and aviation
writer. "(Like) skill and a solid familiarity with airline
operations."

The pilot shortage is relatively recent. It is the result of
extraordinary air traffic growth in the Persian Gulf, China and
India; the rise of lucrative low-cost carriers in Europe and Asia;
and the sustained recovery of the U.S. airlines from the industry
recession caused by the 9/11 attacks.

"There is a giant sucking sound, luring pilots to rapidly
expanding airlines such as Emirates and Qatar and the budget
carriers," said William Voss, head of the Flight Safety
Foundation.

"The result is that experienced pilots from developing countries
in Asia and Africa are leaving in droves for places like the Gulf,
and (those nations) are left with no choice but to recruit pilots
fresh out of flight school."

[...]

In Europe, Belgium's largest carrier Brussels Airlines recently
complained of losing an average of 10 captains a month to
pilot-hungry airlines in the Gulf, and have requested government
intervention.

In the United States, where thousands of veterans were laid off
after 9/11 and left the industry, regional carriers have been
giving jobs to first officers with considerably less experience
than would have been required 15 years ago.

At some airlines, such as Northwest, pilot shortages have led to
record-breaking flight cancellations in recent months. In the last
full week of June, it canceled about 1,200 flights, or about 12
percent of its flight schedule. After that, the airline said it
would continue recalling all of its furloughed pilots and hire
additional pilots.

Figures released by International Air Transport Association show
that global air travel will likely grow 4-5 percent a year over
the next decade, though the aviation boom in India and China is
expected to exceed 7 percent.

[...]

Paradoxically, the worldwide pilot shortages are also making it
harder to properly train new pilots. Flight schools now complain
they are understaffed as instructors get hired by regional
carriers who have lost pilots to expanding airlines.