The article says they’re also using low flying planes and balloons to do the surveys.
A commercial pilot's license requires 1500 hours of flight time under one's belt. The company paid them a small sum to strap a camera to their planes and fly certain routes. New pilots make some extra cash and the company gets cheap shots.
It's possible the company can however rent hours in the plane at below market costs (a friend did something like this years ago while getting his helicopter license)
Looks like a CPL only requires 250 hours of flight time per the FCC, and it's airlines that demand additional time.
https://www.faa.gov/faq/how-do-i-get-commercial-pilot-licens...