Airlines walk tightrope on pilot furloughs

Airlines find themselves facing a critical dilemma as they resize their networks for a new post-coronavirus normal, and must walk a tightrope between furloughing pilots and keeping them on staff to maintain network flexibility, experts say. During a webinar hosted by FlightGlobal, three industry experts weighed in on what airlines must do to keep balance between shrinking their pilot workforces in the short term to save money, while keeping enough pilots working or in easy reach if and when a significant recovery begins. “It’s a meaningful conundrum,” Oliver Wyman aviation practice partner Geoff Murray. Murray, also a former US airline pilot, warns of a “pilot re-shortage” once passengers begin returning to air travel. “Airlines are very distracted in terms of survival as a key issue right now, but when you look at the market dynamics, that problem of a global supply issue can quickly resurface in a post-recovery environment,” says Keith Butler, managing director at CAE Parc Aviation. “Airlines need to now start planning on how to deal with that.” Story has more. <br/>