The Time Between

Recently I had the opportunity to interview Shane Losee, prior Chief Pilot of Skywest airlines and current pilot for Southwest Airlines. Shane offered a wealth of knowledge into the industry as well as some commentary about what created the current situation where pilots need to build time to qualify for an Airline Transport Pilot certificate. I delved a bit into Shane’s history like what got him into the aviation industry, why the airlines, how did he build time to get there, what makes someone a good candidate for the airlines, as well as some other aspects that younger pilots getting into the industry face.

The following will be a series of questions and paraphrased quotes responding to those questions.

What got you into the aviation industry?

“What got me into the aviation industry is when I was a kid, my dad owned an aircraft maintenance shop and operated a flight club, So I was always around aircraft and initially got my A&P (Airframe & Powerplant) certificate as an aircraft mechanic”

When did you decide to move into the airline industry specifically as a pilot?

“So initially I went to Skywest as an aircraft mechanic and while I was there I had several mentors that were pilots strongly recommend that I also become a professional pilot because I also had my Certified Flight Instructor certificate and due to some life circumstances it was the right time to make the jump into the pilot sphere.”

What did you do to build time in order to get to the airline level?

“I mostly used my CFI certificate to teach other people how to fly in order to build hours, but I also flew with Americheck flying freight part time in a Cessna 402 [which helped accrue multi-engine time]”

What are your thoughts on the common pathways that pilots use to build time?

“During my time as the Skywest Chief Pilot, usually the best candidates were CFIs that built time teaching people or prior military because those paths ways set a very strong baseline for standards. When we got a handful of people that did Survey or Pipeline patrol some of them developed bad habits that translated into having a bit of a challenge in the training environment. So if you do plan on going to the airlines, pick one and use their SOPs as a baseline standard to hold yourself to.”

“Another thing is that buying an airplane is a great way as well to build hours but again you still want to hold yourself to a high standard and go do things that challenge you, Go fly long cross countries to unfamiliar places, go fly to towered airports, get additional ratings, and continue to learn.”

During this time building period, do you think many young pilots end up missing the forrest for the trees so to speak?

“Absolutely, a lot of people when they finish their commercial license want to go to the ATP level right away rather than taking that time to really learn more and gain that experience that will help them in the airlines if they plan on going there. Something that I ended up missing when I got to the airlines was flying the smaller General Aviation aircraft, and I eventually bought a Cessna 150 down the road to enjoy time in the smaller airplanes before upgrading to what I have now.”

Expanding on that question, do you think there is a fundamental misunderstanding of how the industry worked before 2009 between the younger and older pilots.

“2009 was an incredibly odd time both with the world and the industry and there definitely is a misunderstanding of how the airlines hired before 2009. Most people were not getting hired with fresh commercial certificates at regional airlines hardly at all, such cases were extremely rare. There were some regional airlines that would hire with less than 1500 hours but most people were getting hired at the airlines closer to 4000 hours. When the Colgan air crash happened in 2009 it became highly politicized and there was a strong push from the families of those involved as well as university lobbyists to have the 1500 hour law passed. It was a very odd time, 1500 hours alone doesn’t make someone a professional and it somewhat messed up the existing pathways for a lot of young people to get into the industry. Again, you really need to hold yourself to a high standard if you intend to go to the airline or even a charter company because holding yourself to a high standard, using grounded checklist flows, and making professional calls is what makes you a good pilot.”

Is an R-ATP qualified degree or more traditional degree more worthwhile in the long run?

“When it comes to the airlines, Seniority is everything. Its possible that while you are pursuing a degree you may be front loading yourself when building hours and getting your foot in the door would be a better pathway. I’d recommend that you pursue your degree on the side if you intend to go to the major airlines that require it because its possible while you are pursuing a degree full time instead of flying, you end up getting passed up during the hiring periods because you don’t qualify hours-wise. Having a degree wont hurt you but you want to be as efficient as possible while building your hours and gaining that experience.”

Do you think that the Post-COVID hiring has put an unrealistic expectation for young pilots just getting into the industry?

“Absolutely. During the post-COVID hiring boom we saw some Younger-than-25 pilots with R-ATPs going to dream major airlines fresh out of the gate right at the minimum hour requirements, some with only high school GEDs which is pretty much unheard of. Its definitely set some unrealistic expectations about the hiring prospects of the industry, and now [in 2025] we’re seeing the industry return back to a normalized hiring pace. Every now and then we’ll see airlines waive some of their hiring requirements [like a degree] if they really need pilots but this doesn’t mean you should bank on those situation happening all the time. You should still work on getting a degree at some point.”

“The reason we’re seeing the hiring prospects return to that ‘normalized’ state is mostly because of aircraft manufactures having trouble with their aircraft in recent years, between the Boeing 737 Max-8 and Airbus having trouble with their GE9X geared engines that grounded a lot of aircraft, that’s really what’s slowed down the hiring process as of late.”

“You need to find a pathway that works for you, going to a flight academy can get you to the Airline minimums really fast but its typically very expensive going down that route, the college pathway is a bit slower but generally not as expensive, you can also go down the solo route in a part 61 flight school and you can go as fast as your drive allows you but you still need to work on getting a degree at some point while building up your experience.”

Last question is more GA oriented, how do you see MOSAIC and its recent changes affecting the industry?

“I think its going to be a great change. The new Sport Pilot certificate privileges are going to offer a very good stepping stone for some people if they’re not entirely sure if they want to go headlong into aviation as a career and they can still use a lot of those hours towards the private and commercial should they want to make that change in the future. When it comes to the aircraft side of the changes I think we’re going to see some very sleek and advanced aircraft come out in the near future that are a lot cheaper and should make for a very competitive market. More competition in this market as always a good thing.”Speaking with

Shane is a wonderful experience, he has a lot of knowledge and insight into the industry with his experience and some very good recommendations and commentary for people looking to get into the industry. He will hope you the best of travels in your aviation journey and is more than willing to help others.