SkyWest 2,000 pilots short of demand: CEO Chip Childs

SkyWest Airlines is benefiting from favourable trends in pilot training and retention but is still 2,000 pilots short of market demand. That is according to CE Chip Childs, who provided an update on the Utah-based carrier’s ongoing pilot shortage during SkyWest’s Q4earnings call on 1 February. ”When we were in pre-pandemic volumes, we had up to 5,400 pilots on property at SkyWest,” he says. “As of today, we are still about 1,000 pilot short of that number… and the demand that we see long-term is that we could use 1,000 pilots on top of that.” “We have to dig ourselves out of this hole,” he continues. “This is not going to take one year or two years.” During the Regional Airline Association Leaders Conference in September, Childs said the airline was 1,200 pilots short of pre-pandemic levels, suggesting recent progress. However, SkyWest still isn’t producing enough captains. “Throughout 2024, we’re going to evaluate additional programmes to make sure that we’re vertically integrated with our partners to expand that captain production even further,” Childs says. The carrier disclosed on 1 February that it has acquired a 25% stake in charter carrier Contour Airlines, partially due to interest in the company as a potential pilot pipeline. SkyWest has a massive fleet of roughly 500 regional jets, flying on behalf of major airline partners such as Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. <br/>