
World’s super-rich hit by private jet pilot shortage - seapunk
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/super-rich-private-jet-pilot-shortage-ryanair-british-airways-easyjet-pay-a9145206.html
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mmmBacon
This article reminds me of two things: the very low pay of pilots just
starting out, and Abigail Disney.

Article from 2017 citing low pay as a reason for pilot shortage:

[https://slate.com/business/2017/09/how-we-ruined-airline-
job...](https://slate.com/business/2017/09/how-we-ruined-airline-jobs.html)

To quote Disney:

 _" If I were queen of the world, I would pass a law against private jets,
because they enable you to get around a certain reality," Abigail Disney
recently told The Cut. "You don't have to go through an airport terminal, you
don't have to interact, you don't have to be patient, you don't have to be
uncomfortable. These are the things that remind us we're human."_

[https://www.businessinsider.com/abigail-disney-outlaw-
privat...](https://www.businessinsider.com/abigail-disney-outlaw-private-jets-
wealthy-people-travel-2019-4)

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mikece
What are private jet pilots paid? Are they independent contractors? I'm
guessing the pay and benefits aren't good enough or there wouldn't be a
shortage. What am I missing?

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flyingfences
It is a very long, tedious, and expensive process to get licensed as a
commercial pilot to carry passengers. I don't have pay numbers on hand, but it
would have to be very high to make all that worthwhile. And, when those
pilots' employment options are between an airplane with just a few people or a
jumbo-jet full of paying customers, it's no wonder these private jet owners
are being priced out of the pilot market.

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Traster
It seems strange to me that a class of customers who are quite obviously price
insensitive are having trouble, when they're competing with an airline
industry which quick frankly has a terrible history of profitability and
therefore seem to be much more price sensitive.

