Spirit of Eastern Michigan Aviation

Current and future state of the regional airline: There is no secret that there is a pilot shortage at not only the regional level, but almost at every level in the aviation industry starting with flight instructors all the way to the cargo side. This past November was the most current case of the pilot shortage that made its way to the news. American Airlines and American Eagle stated that they were faced with crewing issues during the holiday season and month of December. In a statement AA said, "We are working diligently to address the issue and expect to avoid cancellations this holiday season. We have reserve pilots to help cover flying in December, and we are paying pilots who pick up certain open trips 150 percent of their hourly rate. As much as we are allowed to pay them per the contract. We will work with Allied Pilots Association (the pilots union at American) to take care of our pilots and ensure we get our customers to where they need to go over the holidays....

Aviation started pretty late in my life. Growing up, my family and I would rarely fly due to the fact my parents thought car rides would give us more time together due to all of our busy schedules. Around junior year in high school, my parents asked me the question 'What do you want to do with the rest of your life?' I haven't even gave it a thought. During the time, I was helping out our neighbor who is a farmer. We were feeding his hundred of cows covered in mud to my knees. Overhead I heard the roar of an aircraft ripping across the sky in the summer heat, and for some reason that was when I knew what pathway I wanted to take. Currently, I am a Aviation Flight Technology senior, but lacking on the flight end which really isn't bug me too much. Working towards building my flight hours, I am also working on getting my dispatch license, which will help get me a job and pay for those flight hours! While I will be finished on the school side of things, I will still ne...