Source: www.nbaa.org, News Editor, First Published Jan/Feb, 2026 As the business aviation industry seeks workforce solutions in a tight labor market, operators are paying more attention to the work-life balance of flight crews, including making sure that pilots can receive time off on specific, pre-planned days. For many business aviation pilots, devoting time for family and friends, as well as for maintaining physical and mental health, has become a high priority. At the same time, a challenging workforce landscape is pushing many Part 91 and Part 135 operators to prioritize pilot recruitment and retention. These two key factors, and others, have been driving changes in business aviation workforce dynamics. The numbers tell much of the story: In the next eight years, 33,000 new business aviation pilots will be needed to match projected industry growth and replace retiring aviators, according to CAE. The data indicates a tightening labor market, making it more important than ever for business aviation operators to find the best and most promising aviators and to keep the pilots they have. California-based Part 135 pilot Keith Wolzinger’s company allows him to request days off for the subsequent month, and he almost always gets approval – an important benefit that he values highly.“With no minimum number of available days or maximum number of days off, we have complete control of our own monthly schedule,” Wolzinger said.“No ‘10 days on, six off’ or anything like that. As long as we’re reasonable with our days-off requests.” “For a long time, the business aviation industry didn’t pay attention to the need to consider a pilot’s personal life needs,” said Megan Knox, CAM, senior operations manager at M&N Aviation.“The industry expected pilots to build flight time above anything, so scheduled time off wasn’t a priority. Everything worked around the expectation that pilots only wanted to fly. “As the industry has grown over the past 15 years, the FAA has taken a hard look at the issues of pilot fatigue and has implemented some mandates to make sure pilots have ‘protected time off,’” Knox said.“And while the FAA’s regulations (for Parts 121, 125, and 135) have had an impact, it’s the demands of the pilots themselves that have really forced SATISFACTION GUARANTEED: BIZAV PILOTS ARE GETTING SCHEDULED DAYS OFF OPENING LINES 15 AVIATION VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 05, ISSUE 04
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