A national shortage of pilots is creating growing demand for aviation programs. MSU Denver said its aviation program is now the university’s second most popular major as airlines continue working to fill pilot positions.
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“If you graduate from MSU Denver, you only need 1,000 hours before you can go work for the airlines instead of the typical 1,500. So that's what kind of drew me to MSU,” said MSU Denver aviation student Luna Flynn.
The university said right now the United States is facing a shortage of about 24,000 pilots. The industry is also facing a unique challenge.
Commercial airline pilots must retire at 65 while at the same time, new pilots need about 1,500 flight hours before they can fly for an airline.
That means even as airlines need more pilots, it can take years for someone to reach the cockpit of a commercial airliner.
“Airlines are always looking ahead and forecasting passenger demand, fleet growth, retirements, and how many pilots they’ll need to support that flying,” said MSU Denver aviation professor Chad Kendall.
Kendall said pilot availability is one important piece of making that growth possible.
“When they anticipate increased demand and have aircraft and trained pilots available, they can add flights, increase frequencies, and potentially expand into new markets,” Kendall said.
The need for pilots is projected to continue that way for many years.
“As far as passengers are concerned, they want to be able to have ease of travel. They want to be able to go to their airline of choice, find a flight they want, and be able to travel weather for business or pleasure,” Kendall said.
Pilot shortage is one reason Kendall said MSU Denver’s Aviation and Aerospace Science program has grown.
“We’re educating and training the next generation of professional pilots today to help meet the aviation industry’s workforce needs tomorrow,” Kendall said.
The number of classes offered by the program has increased 52% over the past decade. Today, nearly 800 students are enrolled.
One of them is freshman Luna Flynn who said the need for pilots was part of what drew her to aviation.
“They're still hiring, so the market is healthy. That is a good thing because when I was younger, there was an overflow of pilots, and it was very hard for people to get jobs. It's encouraging knowing companies are still hiring and there's still movement in the flows of becoming a pilot,” said MSU Denver aviation student Luna Flynn.
The demand for pilots extends beyond the United States. Boeing projects the global industry will need 674,000 new pilots by 2045.
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