Regional Airline Association CEO: Airline hiring outpaced production of new pilots in US in 1Q2026

Regional Airline Association president and CEO Faye Malarkey Black, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Americas, stated (28-May-2026) despite some improvement to the severity of pilot shortages in the US since "the most acute period... [when] this industry was parking hundreds, almost a thousand jets", the hiring of pilots by major airlines in the US during the first three months of 2026 "again outpaced the production [and certification] of new pilots". Ms Malarkey Black said: "Things are stabilising now, but a lot of those stabilising forces are external", including "the slowdown of our mainline partners' aircraft delivery" rates. She opined: "So are we where we need to be as an industry? No, and I think the answer is an even firmer no when it comes to access and people being actually able to afford this career". Ms Malarkey Black noted: "Student loans were never built to cover the unique expenses of flight education", adding: "People are being held out of this career because it may cost up to USD200,000", and federal student loans fall about USD80,000 short on average, so "for those without either [family wealth or access to private loans], that gap becomes decisive". She reported the Regional Airline Association "do propose a fix... We've got legislation we expect to be reintroduced in the House that would right size those student loan gaps so that more people can access these transformational aviation careers". [more - CAPA TV]