AIRWAYS INTERVIEW Kam Majd only around 6 %. Although the field is not just dominated by men , it is almost exclusively male . Going back 30 , 40 , or 50 years ago , it was very difficult to become an airline Pilot , especially if you were a woman . But that ’ s not the case today with the current pilot shortage .
Airlines are looking for qualified people ; so , those who have an interest in the field have a good chance of walking into an airline cockpit at some point in their career . Once I had come up with the story , I looked for a character who could tell it . I chose a woman .
Many years ago , there was a tradition whereby Playboy centerfolds would be hidden in different places in cockpits . The guys would sit around and look at the pictures and put them back for the next shift because almost all those in the cockpit were men . There was one time , on a flight from LA to New York , when the flight engineer walked in , and it was the two of us Pilots in front of the flight engineer who was a recently qualified female . My male colleague unthinkingly pulled out a picture and , out of habit , looked at it . He realized very quickly that that was inappropriate and put it back . The flight engineer happened to notice the picture and was very cool about it , but we had crossed the line . It was something we needed to start to think about , and it was something we ’ d never thought about previously , so we quickly put the picture back . I started thinking about how awkward this was and how weird it was to do those things out there .
Based on this experience , I knew my protagonist needed to be a female because it would further complicate things for the character . In the book , she gets blamed for the computer virus just because she ’ s a woman .
In recent months , there have been a number of close calls involving commercial airplanes . Why is this happening ? And , in your opinion , what should be done ? More training should be done in order to enable Pilots to figure out what goes wrong and then to fix it . I am not sure why these close calls are occurring . However , during COVID-19 there was a period of decline for the airlines and the entire industry that was just unheard of before , even in the post 9 / 11 world . So , when you start thinking about how quickly airlines had to downsize and also lay off Pilots , air traffic controllers , ground personnel , etc ., it was unheard of . There were airplanes flying with one passenger , and this went on for a year and a half .
Air traffic control had the same issue , so they laid off people and many took early retirement . Fast forward to post COVID-19 , and the demand for travel has substantially increased , which is also affecting air traffic control . So , due to the massive shortage of personnel , all of the new people are being trained just as quickly as possible to keep up with demand .
The number of retiring Pilots is higher than ever in the industry . The airlines had hired all of these Pilots at the same time , around the 1980s , and now they ’ re all retiring at the same time because they have to once they turn 65 . It is going to be like this for at least ten years , with record numbers of Pilots retiring . Thankfully , the technology is solid and they ’ re going to be using it . That should limit the Pilot shortages .
As a Pilot , what are some flight deck secrets on which you can shed light ? There is a lot going on between the companies and the unions and such . This information is mainly public record , and one can look it up and see what it ’ s like . An event like the COVID pandemic has influenced the financials of the airlines and has affected individual Pilots . There are many changes to which people are having to get used . The bankruptcies created in the post 9 / 11 world caused many Pilots to lose a significant portion of their retirement savings , forcing them to work more flight hours . For decades , the retirement age for airline Pilots in the United States was 60 ; in 2007 , they changed it to 65 . Now , they ’ re talking about potentially taking it to 67 or even beyond .
Finally , What advice do you have for young aviators who want to become Pilots or who want to have a career in the aviation industry ? Now is the perfect time . There is a Pilot shortage that is going to last for a long time , and it means you ’ re almost guaranteed to get a job . First , get the education and background you need . Things are not up to luck anymore . Being able to interview properly and say the right things to the right people is important . If you ’ re qualified and know what you ’ re doing , you will get a job . You will progress fast , make more money than before , have more time off , and work in a safe environment .
www . airwaysmag . com AIRWAYS MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2023 59