Pilot attrition proved the bane of the U.S. regional airline business during the first half of the year, forcing flight cancellations that cost carriers not only passenger revenue and goodwill, but performance penalties under the terms of their mainline code-share contracts. Judging by the sentiments airline CEOs expressed recently, better recruiting and training efforts have stopped the proverbial bleeding. But signs of continuing problems persist in many markets, as most major airlines continue to draw recruits from the regional ranks at a pace not seen since before 9/11.
One of the airlines perhaps most taken off guard by this year’s sudden increase in pilot turnover, Memphis-based Pinnacle Airlines, reported that it paid a second-quarter penalty of $1.3 million to mainline partner Northwest–an airline whose flight cancellation rate routinely ranks below Pinnacle’s. All told, during the first half of the year Pinnacle paid Northwest $2.4 million for failing to meet contractual flight completion benchmarks.
