“We’ve been hit by an economic tsunami, September 11, bankruptcies, fluctuating fuel prices, mergers, loss of pensions, and revolving door management teams who have used airline employees as an ATM,” said Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who testified before a House subcommittee. Capt. Sullenberger stated the multiple truths of the industry – the most notable issue being compensation for airline pilots. “The airline piloting profession will not be able to continue to attract the best and the brightest,” said Capt. Sullenberger – addressing the reality that is finally drawing some attention.
It brings me back to the numerous posts I’ve written about US Airways, a company that some say is not yet completely merged with America West. Capt. Sullenberger told CBS that five years ago he and the rest of his fellow pilots at US Airways gave back almost $6.8 billion in pension, wages, and other concessions to keep the airline flying. You might recall, back in 2005, US Airways went bankrupt – America West bought US Airways and steered them out of bankruptcy a few years later. The biggest problem was pilot integration; seniority & pay-scale issues left both pilot groups enraged. It was ugly – and if there is any pilot that can tell you they’ve been through hell, it’s a US Airways pilot.
Let’s pan out of US Airways, who is getting better these days, and look at the industry as a whole. What happened? 9.11.2001 happened, and it was a major setback for airlines. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents 64,000 airline pilots, reported that salaries went down drastically after 9/11. All major U.S. carriers, excluding Southwest and America West, compensation for narrowbody captains declined six to 42 percent. Imagine getting your pay cut in half – not fun. Or how about the TWA and American Airlines merger, which put TWA’s most senior pilots at the bottom of American’s seniority list. The mergers and events of the past 10 years have slammed the industry – just as Capt. Sullenberger pointed out.
I must admit, the workload and low pay even steered me clear of the job. Pilots went from working 70 to 80 hours a month, to 70 to 80 hours a week – and got a pay cut! Regional pilot jobs usually earn about $25-35 thousand dollars a year. That’s barely enough to live on. Quadrupling hours and cutting pay in half is no way to treat those that have control over the safety of an aircraft. I’m glad that Capt. Sullenberger has brought it up – my hope is that pressure will come from citizens and lawmakers to pay our pilots much more.
