Well, the Great Pilot Shortage   

Never seen before?  Perhaps you havent been in the industry long enough. 

During the 1960's and early 1970's rapid expansion of airlines and pilots staying in the military because of Vietnam caused a pilot shortage.  Airlines leased aircraft for perspective low time pilots or even had their own aircraft so pilots could build flight time.  This was ended by the fuel crisis and the end of Vietnam flooding the industry with trained pilots.

In the late 1980's several airlines, including United and People Express, had internship programs, where college students were trained as flight engineeers on 727's and then flight instructed at their schools until they built enough time to eventually move into the right seat.  The programs ceased with the bankruptcy of People Express, and the post Gulf War recession.  The end of the Gulf War also ended stop-loss by the military once again flooding the market with trained pilots.

In the late 1990's the rapid expansion of regional airlines and the introduction of regional jets and code sharing, (which took nearly 50 percent of the mainline flying away from the major airlines), caused a shortage of pilots.  Regional airline Comair started its own flight school and schools like Flight Safety and All ATP's started programs where pilots could get their training in an airline structured environment and move into a regional jet with as little as 250 hours.  There was even something similar to RTAG called APTAP for networking.  9/11 ended it all pretty quickly.  Airlines furloughed pilots, sometimes for up to six years, the retirement age was changed for 60 to 65, and a few years later the Colgan crash in Buffalo ended the use of 250 hour pilot at regional airlines.

There is a pilots shortage and it will last as long as it lasts, it could be years, it could be months.  Impossible to predict a big market downturn, global conflict, or another pandemic.  

Airlines just furloughed pilots during COVID.  One regional airline famously terminated several classes of new hire pilots in training and found a loophole where they were not considered full employees so the airline did not have to pay severance or unemployment, or put them on a furlough list.

Regional carrier Express Jet went bankrupt last year.  Pilot shortages or not, companies still need to have some financial stability to meet demand.  Bankruptcy unually means an end to union contracts and bonuses.  Airlines have in the past declared bankruptcy for the sole purpose of reducing pay and bonuses.  American Airlines  did it once simply by restructuring their operating bond system.  

Retirements are fools gold.  An airline pilot once started a whole company called FAPA back in the 1980's, preaching the gospel of retirements leading to massive airline hiring.  It never materialized because of recessions and the retirement age being increased.  Upping the retirement age will probably happen, especially if people keep crying about severe shortages, and may put the brakes on airline hiring.