AIR CARGO'S MIXED BLESSING.

• Author: D'ORO, RACHEL

There's more and more demand for the transport of air cargo freight in Alaska, but not enough pilots to do the work.

How do you get a couple of Icelandic horses from Wasilla to Ambler?

Bernie Willis chose home-based air cargo carriers to transport his short-legged pair to their new owner last summer.

Willis, who runs a Wasilla-area Icelandic horse ranch, boarded his steeds on an Air Cargo Express DC-6 and accompanied the animals to Kotzebue. From there, they were transferred onto a smaller Arctic Transportation Services Casa-212 for the 120-mile flight to the Western Alaska village of Ambler, where the buyer picked up the small weather-hardy horses.

Once again another successful freight delivery was made--the modern Alaska way. It's a scenario regularly played out by hundreds of state-based air cargo carriers, which range from companies with dozens of planes to single-craft bush pilots. Some shuttle passengers along with freight.

Veterans like Willis say they've seen numerous changes for the better: improved runways in bush communities, bigger planes, more retail choices for consumers from urban hubs like Anchorage and Fairbanks, enhanced purchasing power through the Internet.

"Anyone who's beyond the road system is totally reliant on air freight," said Willis, a pilot himself who flies for Alaska Airlines, which also delivers freight to larger communities in the state. "It's why I moved to Alaska 30 years ago. I wanted to fly and I knew they needed pilots here."

In fact, they need pilots more so than ever with an escalating demand for cargo deliveries in the Interior.

Shortage of Pilots

The downside is finding qualified pilots willing to work for smaller in-state outfits at a time when national and international carriers are in a recruiting frenzy. Nationwide, the number of transport pilots-those delivering passengers and goods for the major airlines-is up compared to a decade ago, from about 97,000 then to more than 135,000 now, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. But overall, the number of licensed pilots in the same time period is shrinking-from 704,000 to slightly more than 618,000.

And Alaska is not immune.

Since the late 1980s, the number of commercial pilots in the state has dwindled. Reflecting the national trend, the number of transport pilots has increased dramatically in recent years.

The smaller air cargo carriers are feeling the drain, according to many who deal with the industry daily through scheduled and...