In interesting timing, this was in Stars and Stripes when I cam down this morning.:
https://www.stripes.com/air-force-chief-seeks-to-lower-commercial-flight-hour-requirement-1.452920
Apparently the Air Force is also feeling the squeeze.
I'm sure they are, but that headline is exactly backwards. The AF Chief wants to raise the commercial hiring minimums so he can hang on to his pilots longer.
The headline: Air Force chief seeks to lower commercial flight-hour requirement
The body: The Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010 was signed into law after the 2009 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 in Buffalo, N.Y. Pilot error and insufficient airline safety procedures were identified as factors. The subsequent legislation addressed safety of flight, including raising the number of hours from 250 to 1,500 that a non-military pilot must have before being hired by a commercial airline. Military-trained pilots are required to have 750 hours.
The military felt the impact of the rule change. Getting 1,500 hours of flight can be prohibitively expensive for non-military pilots, whereas military pilots can rapidly obtain the hours required. Those active-duty pilots are often lured to leave the military by the commercial sector, Goldfein said.
To get hired at a FAA part 121 airline (commercial airlines) a person needs a minimum of 1,500 hours. But to get hired at a part 135 (smaller planes, air-taxi, corporate, etc) only requires 250.
