The Relative Cost-Effectiveness of Retaining Versus Accessing Air Force Pilots

Abstract

Aviation Bonus (AvB) and Aviation Incentive Pay (AvIP) are the two special and incentive (S and I) pays that the U.S. Air Force (USAF) uses to influence pilot retention and sustain the size of the pilot force. These pays have received increased attention in recent years for two reasons. First, changes in the commercial-airline industry have led to concerns about pilot retention in the USAF and about whether AvB and AvIP are high enough. The commercial-airline industry will be hiring pilots in increasing numbers in the next ten years to replace its aging pilot workforce, and recent changes to Federal Aviation Administration regulations on pilot rest and on the number of flying hours needed to qualify for an airline transport pilot certificate could add to this demand. Second, AvIP and AvB have become discretionary programs under Department of Defense Instruction 7730.67 (Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, 2016), so the USAF must annually justify its budgets for and usage of AvIP and AvB. An alternative to relying on retaining current pilots to sustain the size of the pilot force is to access and train new pilots. But expanding the pilot training pipeline is costly, so, ultimately, the USAF faces a trade-off between increasing pilot accessions and incurring greater training cost or increasing pilot retention and incurring higher S and I pay cost, as well as the higher personnel cost of a more senior force. For a given-size pilot force, the determination of the efficient level of S and I pay and whether it is more cost-effective to train new pilots or retain those already in the force depends on the cost of training; personnel cost, including the cost of S and I pay; and, importantly, how responsive pilot retention behavior is to increases in AvB and AvIP.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2019
Accession Number
AD1086241

Entities

People

  • Beth J. Asch
  • James R. Hosek
  • Michael Boito
  • Michael G. Mattock

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Business Administration
  • Civilian Pilots
  • Commercial Aviation
  • Commercial Pilots
  • Employment
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • Financial Management
  • Flight Training
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Pilots
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Reconnaissance
  • Students
  • Training Aircraft

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Economics
  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.