Topic 2: Individual and Industry Ramifications of Flight/Duty Regulations

The Colgan Air accident that occurred in 2009 gained a lot of attention from Congress, and the public, questioning whether training and experience levels of 121 carrier pilots are sufficient enough or not. This accident also brought up questions as to whether or not second in command pilots (SICs) and pilots in command (PICs) should be required to have the same number of flight hours and flight training requirements.  Since this event received so much attention, President Obama signed a public law into effect on August 1, 2010 to try and prevent future incidents of the same nature from occurring, and in my opinion, to simply make people feel safer when flying on a 121 carrier. (Pilot Cerfication, 2012).

This public law 111-216, known as the "Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010", was signed into effect on August 1, 2010 and contains two titles which each include multiple sections. The first title, Title I-- Airport and Airway Extension, has seven different sections that it addresses which range from funding, to air navigation facilities and research and development. The second title, Title II-- Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement, is more extensive and covers seventeen different sections expanding on ways to improve safety and training (Airline Safety, 2010).

Title II of this law has gotten the most attention because it affects a large number of people that are currently in the industry, and many that are seeking to join the workforce in the near future. Section 212 Pilot Fatigue., is one section of the law that I feel has the potential to affect me in my future career. One outcome of section 212 is the notice of proposed ruled making (NPRM) that the FAA released on February 27, 2012. This NPRM, if created into a final rule, would require SICs to hold an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate (which training is also being modified to include 50 hours of multi-engine flight experience and completion of a new FAA-approved training program) with a type rating in their aircraft and also require 1,500 hours of pilot flight time. PICs will also be required to have a minimum of 1,000 hours of flight time as a pilot in U.S. air carrier operations. Currently SICs are only required to hold a commercial pilot certificate which requires just 250 hours of flight time and PICs are not required to have 1,000 hours of flight time as a pilot in U.S. air carrier operations (International, 2012).

I believe that this has the potential to affect my career in the future due to the increasing difficulty it will take to find pilots that meet these demanding requirements. I am not sure what position I will end up doing after I graduate, but if there is a shortage of pilots that meet the requirements to fill the slots, I believe the entire industry will be affected. I do not believe that raising the minimums for SICs is an entirely bad idea. I think that it is a good idea for all 121 pilots to have an ATP and a type rating for the aircraft in which they are flying. While I think requiring 1,500 hours is a little extreme, I do think that more than 250 hours should be a requirement. I know that most, if not all, airlines require more than 250 hours to become one of their pilots but putting it into the regulations is not a bad idea. Making the requirements for PICs more stringent also seems a little extreme to me.

This NPRM also has the potential to affect EMU's future in flight training. It states that the FAA is going to allow different hour requirements for a restricted privilege ATP certificate with airplane category multiengine class rating or type rating. It will allow military pilots to get their ATP with 750 hours, which does not benefit EMU, but it will also allow an ATP certificate to be achieved after 1000 hours for a graduate of a four-year aviation program who has received their commercial certificate and instrument rating from an affiliated part 141 program (Pilot Certification, 2012). This is where EMU can reap benefits from the NPRM. Since Eastern's aviation flight program is now operating under a 141 certificate, its' students will be eligible for this lower hour requirement. If this NPRM is signed into a final rule, EMU may see an increase in students attending for aviation degrees. I believe that this is a good move by the FAA. Having gone through some flight training at the eagle flight center, and almost the entirety of EMU's aviation management program now, I can say that I have been exposed to and educated in a lot of important aspects of the aviation environment. This is not to say that pilots who get their certificates and ratings from an FBO are not as good at flying as pilots who come out of a four-year program, but they do not have the thorough education in the other elements that are so important to aviation safety. 

It will be interesting to see if this NPRM, that came about from Public Law 111-216, is accepted or not and how the industry responds to it.

Thank you for reading,
Kyle Wagenknecht


References

Federal Aviation Administration. (2012, February 29). Pilot certification and qualification requirements for air carrier operations. Retrieved January 25, 2013, from http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-02-29/pdf/2012-4627.pdf

International Association of Flight Training Professionals. (2012, March 21). The global impact of the FAA NPRM regarding pilot certification and qualification requirements for air carrier operations (U.S.).  Retrieved January 25, 2013 from http://iaftp.org/2012/03/the-global-impact-of-the-faa-nprm-regarding-pilot-certification-and-qualification-requirements-for-air-carrier-operations-u-s/

U.S. Congress. (2010, August 1). Airline safety and federal aviation administration expansion act of 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2013, from http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-111publ216/pdf/PLAW-111publ216.pdf

Topic 1: Leveling the Global Aviation Playing Field

With the United States in its' current economic situation, our aviation industry is definitely taking a hit. It has been difficult enough for the industry to regain the trust of its' passengers after the events of September 11, among other terrorist attacks, and adding economic stress to the nation only amplifies the difficulty of the current state of the industry. Fuel prices continue to increase, which is a very large cost for airlines to overcome. I have heard that the industry is starting to make a recovery, and hope this is the case, but what have you heard or witnessed?

A few countries elsewhere in the world seem to be doing remarkably well, and show no signs of letting up. I found a USA Today article titled 'China's set to rule the skies of air travel' written by Charisse Jones (2013) who starts the article with, "Beijing Capital International is poised to become the world's busiest airport by the end of this year, toppling Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson". This is not the only statement in the article that proves that the Chinese aviation industry is flourishing, she also says that industry analysts expect China's market for air travel to overcome that of the U.S. in the next two decades. This information is not entirely bad news for the U.S. though, it creates a perfect opportunity for our industry to take advantage of the increasing demand for international travel (Jones, 2013).

How is our industry struggling and barely sustaining itself while China's is growing and doing so well? There are a few things that are helping them. First off, China's economy is now the second largest in the world and with a population that is much larger than ours, supplemented with an economy that is growing, it makes sense that their aviation industry would also be doing well. The second reason that their aviation industry is doing so well is because they have a growing middle class who now wants to travel (Jones, 2013).

United and other U.S. airlines have been increasing their services to China and trying to form relationships with the airlines there to tap into this growing demand. International travel is not the only type of travel that is increasing and helping their aviation industry outlook, between 2008-2012 there were twenty four commercial airports that were built in China. The Chinese domestic air travel is also expected to increase greatly in the coming years (Jones, 2013).

With all of this growth, there will also be an increasing demand for pilots and other aviation personnel. In fact, a forecast from Boeing last year estimated that China will need 71,300 pilots over the next twenty years. The country is offering many perks and is easing the requirements to try and get more candidates to apply, but is having some difficulty (Jones, 2013).

With all of this opportunity on the horizon, would you be willing to move to China to start your career? With their aviation industry growing so rapidly and their economy doing well, do you believe that their industry will soon be the most dominant in the world or do you think that it will stumble because the infrastructure will not be able to keep up and will not have a proper means to support it?

China is not the only place that is experiencing growth in their aviation industry. Kazakhstan's passenger market is expected to be the fastest growing over the next five years according to an IATA projection. This projection is expected to hold true for both international and domestic traffic, and by a wide margin (CAPA, 2013).

Kazakhstan is positioned well geographically since it is located just south of Russia and is in the north end of Central Asia. It is in a perfect position to connect Central Asia, as well as Russia. It is also in an area that could facilitate connection of China with Central Asia. Another benefit of Kazakhstan's location is that it happens to be halfway between the Far East and Europe, with all of these growing markets around, there are a lot of opportunities to continue to grow (CAPA, 2013).

There are concerns that lack of airport growth at Kazakhstan's largest international airport, along with others, will limit the growth potential of this industry. If the airports are able to get the funding they need and are able to expand as needed, their industry looks like it will continue to grow (CAPA, 2013).

Obviously there are other countries that are experiencing increased growth in the aviation industry as well, but these are just two examples. I believe that the U.S. industry will rebound within the next five to ten years as the economy improves, and hopefully we will be back to where we were prior to 9/11. I believe that this stimulation will have to start with the economy turning around which will allow people to travel like they did in the past. What do you believe the state of the aviation industry in the U.S. will be in the next five to ten years?

Thank you for reading,
Kyle Wagenknecht



References

CAPA Center for Aviation (2013). Air Astana plans for more rapid regional growth as Kazakhstan emerges as world's fastest growing market. Retrieved January 21, 2013, from http://centrefor aviation.com/analysis/air-astana-plans-more-rapid-regional-growth-as-kazakhstan-emerges-as-worlds-fastest-growing-market-94225

Jones, C. (2013). China's set to rule the skies of air travel. Retrieved January 21, 2013, from http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2013/01/20/china-air-travel/1846595/

Personal Introduction

Hello everyone, welcome to my blog!

Since this is a personal introduction, let me explain a little bit about myself. I am a senior at Eastern Michigan University majoring in aviation management technology. I originally began studying aviation flight technology at Eastern, but had to switch to management because I could not keep my medical. I am looking forward to graduating this spring and entering the professional world.

While going to school full time, I work two part time jobs. During the golfing season I work at Deme Acres Golf Course as a greenskeeper. I also work at Toledo Express airport doing ramp, ticket counter and gate services for Allegiant Air. I really enjoy working both jobs and hope that my experiences at both places will lead me to success after graduation from Eastern.

Other than all of those educational and work related things, I keep busy by playing guitar and singing backup vocals in a pop-punk band. I also love to play sports including: golf, basketball, tennis, disc golf, football and any other sport really. I try to stay as active as possible while balancing my work and school schedule. As with everyone else my age, I enjoy hanging out with my friends and having a good time. Another hobby that I have is keeping freshwater aquariums.

That pretty much sums up my personal introduction, I hope that you have learned something new about me and that you are looking forward to my future posts!

Thanks for reading,
-Kyle Wagenknecht