Mesa Airlines offering interest-free loans for pilot training: We're watching regional aviation 'evaporate'
Phoenix-based airline gives pilots the opportunity to obtain necessary flying time as shortage threatens industry
Airline CEO Jonathan Ornstein offering interest-free loans to address pilot shortage
Mesa Airlines Chairman and CEO Jonathan Ornstein tells Stuart Varney how his company's initiative to give pilots interest-free loans to fly the number of hours needed to obtain their pilot's license will help the pilot shortage.
Phoenix-based Mesa Airlines is looking to solve ongoing pilot shortages crippling the travel industry by offering interest-free loans to pilots needing more flight hours to obtain their licenses.
The regional airline's chairman and CEO Jonathan Ornstein told FOX Business' Stuart Varney about the initiative on "Varney & Co." Monday, saying the shortage must be resolved soon.
"I think we're in a position where we have to do something to alleviate this very severe pilot shortage that's affecting the entire industry and, ultimately, really affecting the consumer," he said.
REGIONAL AIRLINE HAS SOLUTION FOR PILOT SHORTAGE
The CEO of regional carrier Mesa Airlines, Jonathan Ornstein, says as less flights are available, the ones you can book will cost more. (FNC / Fox News)
Ornstein described the shortage as the worst he has seen in his forty-year history of working in aviation.
He added that pilots currently need 1,500 hours to become certified to fly for a major airline.
"That's up from the original 250 where a pilot would receive its commercial license," he said.
MIAMI SPRINGS, FLORIDA - MAY 19: Christian Kampff (L) of Brazil and Nicolas Durand of Canada take a training course on a 737 jet simulator at the Pan Am Flight Academy on May 19, 2022 in Miami Springs, Florida. ((Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Ornstein said the pilot shortage issue has been building since the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010 took effect in 2013.
"This regulation doesn't exist in any other country in the world, and we're the only place where there's a shortage," he said.
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He told Varney that the pilots participating in the program already have their commercial license and are working to be certified to fly larger aircraft.
"We're watching the regional aviation sort of evaporate as a result of the loss of pilots… it's going to be a big impact," he stressed.
Raising the next generation of pilots
Several airlines are struggling with staffing shortages, which could make flights this summer more expensive. Raising Aviation High School in Addison, Texas could help with the current pilot shortage.
