Jan 17, 2022

There is an accepted view in the aviation community, that the pilot shortage is primarily a factor of inefficiency in the pilot training segment. This view asserts that the way that flight schools in aviation training institutions operate leads to either higher dropout rates for student pilots or creates barriers for interested potential pilots to enter pilot training. This view also holds that if schools would reduce these barriers it will allow the potential pilots to get into pilot training a lot easier and allow those who were already in the system for pilot training to flow through the system with greater ease and success. Furthermore, as the argument goes, this would have a “trickle-up“ effect, with a greater amount of success in pilot training and lead to a greater number of pilots entering professional pilot careers, leading to a positive change in the pilot shortage.

While the arguments above seem very plausible on the surface, however, when one digs deeper one finds that things are not as they initially need the eyes. This article takes a look at the so-called flight school’s responsibility in part or in whole for the current pilot shortage, Taking a deep dive into this allegation to see where the merits are and where they are not. In the end, the article hopes to shed some light on flight schools’ true responsibility for or against the pilot shortage.

Key takeaways

• Many blame flight schools for the current pilot shortage.
• There are some good surface arguments for flight school being the main cause of the pilot shortage.
• Flight schools work more to the advantage of the industry than originally meets the eye.
• Believing that they are the cause of the pilot shortage, some flight schools may respond in ways that adversely affect their business in the medium to long term.

In a previous article, Discrepancies: Pilot Training vs Professional Pilot Careers, we discussed some of the reasons why individual flight schools operate in “inefficient ways“. It is these “inefficiencies” that are sometimes blamed for the pilot shortage. In a future article, we will dive deeper into the true cause of why flight schools operate the way they do and why the pilot training segment is the way it is based on industry structure. For now, we will focus primarily on the claim that either in part or in whole flight schools are responsible for the pilot shortage.

We find this argument that flight schools are either in part or in whole responsible for the pilot shortage to be highly misleading. Those who believe this argument simply need to take a deeper look into the entire structure of the industry itself and overlap that with adjoining industries and the entire aviation training segment itself to see some of the true causes. Now, let us take a look at arguments both far and against flight school being the reason for the pilot shortage.

Arguments for flight schools being a cause.

As stated before in this article, the arguments for flight schools and aviation training institutions being in part or in whole, the reason for the pilot shortage has some merit, at least on the surface. Some of those arguments are as follows.

1. Greedy flight schools - There is an argument that flight schools are merely greedy and try to squeeze out as much money as possible from the clients (student pilots). This view asserts that flight schools, rather than trying their very best to keep their prices low, take every opportunity to increase those prices to their paying customers. This argument also asserts that this greed manifests itself every day across the pilot training segment in not only the price for the service of providing flight training but other services associated with pilot training as well.
2. Inefficient in their operating structures - This is arguably the most plausible argument. This argument asserts that flight schools are so inefficient in how they run their business that they cannot help but either jack up the prices, or not be effective enough in training pilots in a timely manner. This leads to students either leaving the flight training institution to search for another that is more advantageous to them or after repeated search for the better flight schools and finding the same inefficiencies drops out of pilot training entirely.
3. Not caring much about the students - Here is another argument that has some merits to it. Being a pilot and a certificated flight instructor candidate currently, the author of this article has seen firsthand this “lack of care”. Fortunately for the author, he has not been subjected to the kind of “lack of care” that he has witnessed in pilot training. One thing to note here, however, it is generally flight instructors that conduct this sort of “lack of care” and not necessarily the flight training institution itself. However, given that these instructors are working for the flight training institution then the blame must rest with that institution since they are ultimately responsible for the quality of the service they provide through their agents, the flight instructors.
4. Using outdated processes and technologies - It is true that flight schools generally use outdated processes and technology (information technology). Based on research, the average flight school technology being used to conduct its business is approximately 15 to 20 years in the past when compared to other industries, or even when compared to other segments within the aviation industry itself. 

On the surface, the arguments above seem like fine arguments. They are what meets the eye, and inferences and conclusions can be drawn readily from what meets the eye. Let’s take the so-called greedy flight schools for example. What may seem like greed is a flight school desperately trying to keep up with higher operating costs by passing off those costs to their paying customers. How about the inefficiencies in the structure of the operations? That also relates to the higher costs being imposed on them because of the industry structure and lacking the capital reserve to invest in new technology and processes. How about not caring for their students? This one is also another good one. Yet, the care given to students comes from the institution primarily through the instructors. While pilot training institutions must enforce the kind of quality expected from their agents (flight instructors) with limited resources in a feast and famine segment, sometimes it is difficult to do this. How about outdated processes and technology? In previous articles, we have discussed how flight schools may use tactics such as Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) and explore new flight school management solutions that can allow them to have greater resource utilization, to improve efficiencies across the board. However, the excess capital or cash reserves needed to invest in these processes and technologies may not be available to the average flight school. 

Arguments against flight schools being a cause.

Let us now turn our attention to the arguments against flight schools and aviation training institutions being in part or in whole the reason for the pilot shortage. 

1. Flight schools are a lot more efficient than what meets the eye- Flight schools as a group are quite efficient at responding to industry changes. For example, when there is an increase in the demand for pilots, flight schools either increase their output or expand their operations to take advantage of this increase in demand. Another thing that happens is that new flight schools end in the market to take advantage of this increased demand for pilots. In fact, this is currently happening as this article is being written. Over the past two years, they’ve been a rash of flight schools popping up across the country to take advantage of the pilot shortage. They believe that if there’s a shortage of pilots that means there is a demand for pilot training. In most cases they are correct. The challenge with the inefficiency argument in the flight schools is not that they are inefficient in aggregate, they are inefficient in granularity. What this means is that an individual flight school can be inefficient in how they operate day-to-day, yet not be inefficient as a group in responding to general market conditions. As for the day-to-day inefficiencies, we’ve already outlined that this is a result of the lack of re-engineered processes and technologies necessary to become more efficient due to the lack of capital necessary to invest in such processes and technologies.
2. Flight school’s overall role in the aviation industry  - Flight schools play a significant role in the industry as it relates to pilot training, however, their overall role in the entire industry itself is small relative to other segments. There is no doubt that flight schools’ role in pilot training is significant, yet, it is important for us to know that the magnitude of that role is small relative to other factors such as other industry segments, and individuals themselves who seek to become pilots and enter professional pilot careers. For example, in a previous article, Discrepancies: Pilot Training vs Professional Pilot Careers, we stated that “many individuals take up pilot training because of the opulence and somewhat prestige that surrounds the career. However, many individuals are not prepared for the level of work and dedication necessary to get even their first pilot license which is a private pilot, recreational pilot, or sport pilot license”. Therefore, much of a dropout rate for student pilots that is primarily blamed on flight schools and flight instructors, in large part maybe attributed to the students themselves.
3. Adept at taking advantage of opportunities - As briefly discussed above, as a group, flight schools are extremely adept at taking advantage of opportunities, primarily as it relates to their absolute survival or potential growth in the market space. There are circumstances when flight schools realize that they need to provide a higher quality of training or better aircraft that are well-maintained. In a previous article  Flight Schools - Going All-Electric? we talked about how some flight schools are looking to adopt – albeit reluctantly – electric aircraft into their fleet. This is one sign that flight schools can respond To opportunities when they arise, and On the whole, in a free-market economy, if flight schools do not respond to something there may be no opportunity there, either to improve the service they provide to their students while remaining profitable in business or to grow their business. Research has shown that flight schools across the country are constantly trying to find ways to improve their service to their younger clients (student pilots). This sees some flight schools adding items such as tablet computers, online training for their ground school where practicable, and utilizing training scheduling software that offers mobile application interfaces.

Blaming flight schools for the pilot shortage seems like the easy path to take without having to do a deeper analysis of the underlying factors of the current situation. As discussed in a previous article, The Pilot Shortage - ‘The Real "Culprits"…, while the factors for the pilot shortage are numerous and hard to pin down like counting thousands of butterflies, we believe that the starting point is not flight schools. In the article, we assert that the starting point for the pilot shortage is engine manufacturers for airlines, coupled with the aggregate reduction in poverty across the world. Once more, while flight schools do play a part, their role is not as significant to be the primary driver of the pilot shortage. When we take into account that they always respond positively to any increased need or demand for pilots, the argument that they are the primary cause gets into even deeper waters.

How might flight schools respond?

If flight schools buy into the argument that they are the primary cause of the pilot shortage. They may respond in one or a combination of ways. Some of these are discussed below:

1. Flight schools may try to increase their output to match the industry demand for pilots, even though they may not have the full capability to do so. This might inevitably hurt their business in the long run.
2. Flight schools may also promote cultures and practices that are incongruent with their long-standing practices. These promotions would require a shift in a business model which would upset the balance within their entire business operation.
3. Flight schools may also rush to adopt new processes and technologies without carefully weighing all the pros and cons before deciding whether or not to adopt such processes or technologies. 

In sum, flight schools who believe that they are the main reason for the pilot shortage may respond in ways that adversely affect their overall business in the medium to long term. Coupled with the fact that most conditions in the aviation space are temporary and no one knows In a definite way what will happen in the future. Therefore, a flight school changing its operation without proper and adequate forethought may be setting itself up for failure.

We believe that the argument that flight schools are the primary cause of the pilot shortage is highly fallacious. Flight schools and individuals and entities outside of the pilot training segment who believe this tend to act in ways that are counter to the response necessary to counteract the current pilot shortage. It is without a doubt that flight schools operate in a difficult segment, to say the least, and must operate and act the way they do in order to survive. We assert that flight schools are not Inefficient in the aggregate, in fact, they are quite efficient as a group in responding to changes in the industry, however inefficient they may be at the individual level. It is clear that flight schools play a major role in the aviation community, yet, that role in the entire community is smaller with relation to the current pilot shortage than many might believe. As we stated in this article and in articles before, flight schools operate the way they do in order to survive. It is very unlikely that flight schools will rapidly change the way they operate unless the conditions allow them to do so without damaging their business. Those who blame the flight schools for the pilot shortage may want to look at the actual data and realize that flight schools as a group are a major countervailing force in trying to regain equilibrium as it relates to the pilot shortage.

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