The “1500-hour rule” has been a flashpoint in U.S. aviation ever since Congress imposed it in 2013. Proponents say it makes flying safer. Critics argue it is unnecessary and drives up costs. But what the rule actually requires, and what it really accomplishes, is often misunderstood. 121 pilot, our resident commercial airline pilot on Live And Let’s Fly, brings us a two-part story on “1500-hour rule” for commercial airline pilots. Here’s part one.

The 1500-Hour Rule And What No One Is Talking About

The 1500-hour rule has been the subject of intense debate in recent years with regional airlines struggling to find enough qualified candidates to fill their cockpits. On one hand, you have critics who charge that it’s nothing more than a shameless play by ALPA to restrict the pool of available pilots and therefore drive up wages for its members. On the other side ALPA loves to cite a 99.8% reduction in passenger fatalities in airline operations since the rule was adopted. It, of course, shouldn’t be a surprise that the regional airline industry that had traditionally massively underpaid pilots would advocate for policies that might make that easier. It is, however, absolutely shameful for ALPA to knowingly misrepresent safety data to advance a cause, no matter how noble. Let’s break down some of the myths around the 1500-hour rule and then in part two I will discuss why this pilot thinks it’s a good idea.

What Is The 1500-Hour Rule?

In order to be an airline pilot under the rule, pilots are required to have a minimum of 1500 hours of total flight time. When implemented, this was a significant increase over the 190-250 hours that was previously required. There are three exceptions to this rule. First, Military pilots can qualify with 750 hours, second, those who earn a bachelor’s degree in aviation can reduce the requirement to 1000 hours and third, an associate’s degree in aviation allows a reduction to 1250 hours.

Myth 1: 1500-Hour Rule And Safety Claims

Myth one: the 1500 hour rule has resulted in a 99.8% reduction in fatalities. For this to be true you would need to be able to look at accidents that happened prior to the rule and point to a pilot with less than 1500 hours as a contributing factor. But, none of the accidents that have happened in airline operations in the period ALPA likes to reference had pilots with less than 1500 hours. So, it’s a lie to say that any part of the reduction in fatalities has been driven by the 1500-hour rule. Right now, there are no studies that show the 1500-hour rule has improved aviation safety.

Myth 2: The Rule Caused A Pilot Shortage

Myth two: the 1500-hour rule created a shortage of pilots leading to major wage gains, especially at the regional level. This myth has grains of truth to it, however, it overlooks other factors and history. First, at least in the US, it has been traditionally very rare for an airline, regional or otherwise, to hire a pilot with less than 1500 hours. There have been exceptions of course. For example, at one point, many regional airlines would hire pilots who had completed internships with much lower total experience. But the real driver in the wage gains that happened a few years ago was driven by what was happening at the major airline level. Major airlines came out of COVID having thinned their ranks to find a recovery in travel demand that exceeded even the most optimistic assumptions.

The result combined with a significant wave of retirements, was a very accelerated demand for new hires to fill the seats. Most of this hiring came as a result of pilots at the regional level moving up to a major, and as you might expect existing Captains at regional airlines were in high demand. This created a two-fold problem at the regional level. First, they had to find qualified pilots whom they could hire to fill the vacancies being created. But, more critically, the regionals struggled to fill their Captain seats. The inability to fill the left seat was itself driven by two factors.

First Experience. Because in order to be a Captain you need 1,000 hours of experience in airline flying or equivalent under the rules. So, if your losing Captains at an accelerated rate you might find that you can’t staff your Captain seat because there aren’t enough Captain-qualified pilots available.

Two, regional Captains who were also check airman came to be in even greater demand as these pilots found it even easier to leave for a major. If you don’t have check airman then your training pipeline grinds to a halt, not to mention the requirements for line checks of existing Captains. It was the Captain and especially the check airman drain created by the majors that drove the massive regional pay increases as those airlines fought to hang onto these pilots. Filling the right seat, while a challenge, was a secondary issue.

Myth 3: Pilots Just Fly In Circles

Myth three: the 1500-hour rule results in pilots making endless laps around small local airfields landing and taking off just to build up their time. This isn’t remotely what happens, nor is getting from 250 to 1500 hours the giant obstacle that some people want you to think it is. Because general aviation, in the US, is much cheaper than in Europe; for example, large numbers of prospective European professional pilots come to the US for flight training. This and the accelerated hiring at the airlines mean that it’s not hard to find a position as a flight instructor in the US. Flight instruction is the way a vast majority of pilots in the US get from 250 to 1500 hours. Constantly teaching new pilots basic skills and aeronautical decision-making is actually very valuable experience.

Every day is a new challenge and may mean a student who is making a mistake you haven’t seen before. Being an instructor also means that you’re the pilot in command. You’re the ultimate authority when decisions have to be made regarding the safe conduct of the flight. That practice in aeronautical decision-making leads to better airmanship, the need for which I’ve written about in the past (Link Here).

When you’re sitting in the right seat of a 737 you’re aware of decisions being made and the better Captains will involve you in them. But that’s not the same thing as sitting in the left seat yourself.  Study after study has shown the best way to learn something is to teach it and that’s very true in aviation. I also believe that the hours spent actually flying small general aviation types early in your career lay an enormously valuable foundation in terms of skills. A foundation you don’t get when you move into a modern highly automated jet very early in your career where you spend the majority of your time watching the automation do its thing.

CONCLUSION

The 1500-hour rule did not singlehandedly improve safety, nor did it create the pilot shortage. What it did do was create a baseline standard. Debunking the myths is important so that when we discuss the rule’s merits, we are honest about what it does and doesn’t do. In the next piece, I’ll explain why, despite the myths, the 1500-hour rule remains worth defending.