In our most recent class meeting my fellow students and I
were shown Flying Cheap, a Frontline
documentary done by PBS. The documentary focuses on the crash of Colgan Air
flight 3407 in Clarence Center, New York on February 12 of 2009. For those
interested here is a link to the documentary: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/flyingcheap/
. In summary, the documentary goes on to analyze the crash and uses it as an
example to make a case against poor safety standards used in the regional
airline industry, pilot fatigue among them. In this post I will address the state
of the regional airline industry today including analysis of the looming pilot
shortage and how new regulations have affected the industry. Additionally,
using examples from the PBS documentary, I will address professionalism and how
professionalism may be demonstrated differently based on factors such as pay and
benefits.
In order to understand the accident
and video, along with the other topics of discussion, one must understand what constitutes
a regional carrier. The regional airline industry, as defined by avjobs.com,
consists of “airlines whose service, for the most part, is limited to a single
region of the country, transporting travelers between the major cities of their
region and smaller, surrounding communities” (para. 7). Further breaking down the
regional airline industry there are three sub-groups: large, medium, and small
carriers. Large carriers generally have operating revenues of $20 to $100
million with aircraft that seat 60 or more passengers. Medium carriers operate the
same type of aircraft but on a smaller scale of operations. Medium carriers
tend to generate $20 million or less in operating revenue. Small regional
carriers do not have a distinct margin for revenues. Rather they are
characterized by the type of aircraft they fly which have no more than 61
seats. (Avjobs, para. 7-10)
The carriers that most people are
familiar with are the majors. These carriers include US Airways and Delta, and account
for airlines generating more than $1 billion in operating revenue. Most
passengers believe that they are always flying with one of the major carriers
that they purchased their tickets for. However, this is not always so. Major
carriers and regional carriers have established what is called a code
share.
Code sharing is a commercial
agreement between two airlines that allows an airline to put its two-letter
identification code on the flights of another airline as they appear in
computerized reservations systems. For example, Delta Airlines might have an
agreement to operate flights for United Airlines on a route. This flight would
be listed under United’s identification code (UA) but actually operated by
Delta Airlines. (GSA, 2012, para.
1)
David
Koenig (2014) writing for USA Today puts it simply, saying, “This arrangement
helps the big airlines pack their planes more cheaply and contributes to recent
record profits” (para. 2). Regional airlines transport passengers between large-hub
and medium- or small-hub airports on smaller aircraft and generate a small amount
of revenue, while the major carriers can focus on large scale operations
generating massive amounts of revenue flying solely from large-hub airports to
other large-hub airports.
Now
that a picture has been painted let’s begin with the state of the regional
airline industry today and the implications of a possible pilot shortage. There
are two opinions on the topic of a pilot shortage in the airline industry. One
opinion is that there is not a pilot shortage, and that if pilot pay among the
regional airlines was raised the problem would be solved. The second opinion is
that there is indeed going to be a pilot shortage due to new regulations and an
aging workforce, and that we are already seeing the effects. I hold that the truth
lies somewhere in the middle and that neither opinion is entirely right or
wrong.
The regional
airlines today are in fact having a hard time hiring qualified pilots for their
operations, and it is clear to see that wages and benefits are a principle
reason for this. An article in Air Line
Pilot, written by the ALPA Staff (2014), cites the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) in comparing the wages of newly hired
first-officers in the regional airlines and the major airlines:
• 11 of the 12 regional airlines
interviewed by the GAO have been unable to meet hiring targets for training classes
formed since early 2013. Regional airlines currently pay, on average, about $24
per flight hour (approximately $24,000 annually) for new-hire first officers.
• the mainline airlines interviewed
by the GAO report that they are not experiencing any difficulty in attracting qualified
and desirable pilot candidates. These airlines currently pay, on average, about
$48 per flight hour (approximately $48,000 annually) for new-hire first
officers. (p. 21)
Additionally,
in 2012 it was found that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
certificated 6,396 air transport pilots. The GAO estimated that in the next ten
years only 1,900 to 4,500 new pilots would need to be hired annually. As you
can see, the number of new pilots for 2012 is much greater than the highest
estimate of the number of pilots required over a year in the next decade, and the
number of new pilots certificated each year is growing (ALPA Staff, 2014, p.
20). To further substantiate this claim I present that there are thousands of
U.S. pilots opting to take jobs with foreign companies overseas who are
offering much higher wages and better benefits.
So why don’t
the regional airlines simply increase pilot pay? The issue here relates to what
I detailed earlier about the relationship between the regional and major air
carriers. The regionals contracts with the major carriers give control of the ticket
prices to the major carriers. When the regional carriers absorb unforeseen costs,
such as rising fuel prices, they are unable to pass the cost on to the customer.
Therefore, the most effective way to control and mitigate costs is through the wages
of their workforce.
Further
complicating the hiring process are new regulations promulgated by the FAA and Congress
as a result of the Colgan crash in 2009. The most controversial of these new
regulations being a standard set in place stating that all pilots and co-pilots
must have at least 1500 hours of flight experience. It is my opinion that this
regulation will reduce the amount of pilots coming into the industry. The cost
of education and flight lessons are continually rising. This new 1500 hour
standard significantly increases that cost. I believe the cost of education
along with the low starting pay of new pilots will turn potential pilot
candidates away from the industry in search of better conditions, thus making the
regional airline hiring process even more arduous than before.
So what
can aspiring pilots and the regional airlines do in order to mitigate the effects
of the rising cost and new regulations? For the regional airlines I believe it
comes down to a matter of their contracts with the major carriers. The regional
airlines need to assume control of ticket prices in order to alleviate the pressures
of rising costs in other aspects of their business. This will allow the regional
airlines to increase pilot pay. Another option is for the airlines, whether
they be regional or major, to establish programs that pay for the flight hours
of aspiring pilots. With that being said, aspiring pilots need to take
advantage of these programs that I have proposed. Another route, and the route
I am taking, is to serve your country and fly for one of the armed forces.
There
is much to be considered with how the regional airlines do business. The aviation
industry is constantly evolving, and it will be interesting to see how this
looming pilot shortage will be dealt with. At this time I am going to answer
questions assigned to me by my class instructor pertaining to the regional
carriers and the documentary I mentioned at the beginning of the blog, Flying Cheap. Question number one:
The Airline Pilots Association
(ALPA) represents most regional pilots. Which organization represents the remainder
of the industry, such as management, manufacturers, etc.?
The remainder
of the regional carrier industry is represented by the Regional Airline
Association (RAA).
One of the events that led to the Colgan
accident was a lack of professionalism. Define professionalism in your own
words.
Professionalism
is an unwavering commitment to a moral code and the procedures set forth by a
specific profession.
List two ways in which a lack of
professionalism was demonstrated in the documentary.
1.
A failure in oversight by the FAA. The FAA
employee charged with overseeing Valujet, the regional carrier that was contracted
by Colgan, did not investigate claims of malpractice against Valujet because the
owner of Valujet had friendly ties with the FAA employee.
2.
The breaking of the sterile cockpit rule by the pilots.
The pilots carried on numerous conversations during critical phases of the flight
that did not pertain to the piloting of the aircraft.
Do you feel that first year pilot pay and/or the compensation structure
of a regional airline is a contributing factor in the lack of professionalism
demonstrated in the documentary?
No. Professionalism is a
characteristic developed personally and on an organizational level. It must be
talked about, practiced, and refined by the individual and the organization as
a whole. I do not believe pay is a factor.
List two specific ways you plan to maintain and expand your level of
professionalism once you are employed.
1.
Self -analyze. By continuously analyzing my
strengths and weaknesses I will be able to perform my duties to the utmost of
my abilities.
2.
Accountability. By holding myself accountable
for my mistakes I am able to improve in the areas where I have underperformed.
That wraps it up for this week’s
post. A sincere thank you for those of you who stuck it out to the end.
Hopefully you learned a thing or two. If you have any questions leave me a
comment and I will answer it to the best of my ability.
Bibliography
ALPA Staff. (2014, April 1). A pilot shortage?
Nope.It’s all about the money. Retrieved January 26, 2015, from
http://www.alpa.org/portals/alpa/magazine/2014/April2014_PilotShortage.pdf
Avjobs. (n.d.). Structure of the Airline
Industry. Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://www.avjobs.com/history/structure-of-the-airline-industry.asp
Carey, S & Nicas, J. (2014, February 3).
Airline-pilot shortage arrives ahead of schedule. Retrieved January 26, 2015,
from http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304851104579361320202756500
Federal Aviation Administration. (2014, October
21). Airport Categories. Retrieved January 25, 2015, from
http://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/categories/
Frontline [Motion
picture]. (2010). WGBH Educational Founation.
Sumwalt, R. (2010, February 12). The anatomy of
an accident: Colgan Air flight 3407. Retrieved January 25, 2015, from
http://www.ntsb.gov/news/speeches/RSumwalt/Documents/SCAA-100212.pdf
Tumulty, B. (2014, February 11). 5 years after
N.Y. crash, some airline safety progress. Retrieved January 26, 2015, from
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/11/colgan-air-crash-prompts-safety-regulations/5372353/
United States General Services Administration.
(2014, December 5). Code share fact sheet. Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/103887
Writer, D. (2014, September 11). Fortunes sour
for regional airlines as majors prosper. Retrieved January 26, 2015, from
http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2014/09/11/fortunes-sour-for-regional-airlines-as-majors-prosper/15437841/
