Pilot shortage is hurting flight schools

Airlines are poaching flight schools for pilots to the point that instructors are now in limited supply, reports The Washington Post. U.S. airlines hired 5,000 pilots in 2017, up from just 30 in 2009, and demand is only expected to rise in the coming years. Some schools are boosting instructor pay to keep their teachers, a financial move that may be hard to sustain: flight school students already pay over $50,000 for flight training alone.