If I could write a letter to MGMT industry wide...

Greetings,

I'll start this off by saying I truly have no idea how hard it is to do your job, I'm unfamiliar with the struggles that you have gone through to climb up the ladder of your respective careers. So I'm writing this in the most respectful way possible while trying to inform you of the way your decisions look from the outside in and from those that are working beneath you in this industry.

For years, a certain kind of human being has been in awe of the science and possibilities that aviation brings upon our world. Whether that human knew it from the first time they spotted a plane, or if it grew on them with years of exposure to the beauty of aviation. Most pilots will tell you that they weren't made a pilot, they were born one. Pilots in the military, pilots in the civilian community and even those that wish they could be certified pilots but lack the funds necessary share a love and passion that is very extraordinary. This passion has been taken advantage of for years now, all in the name of making a dollar. As of today, almost 50% of the departures in this nation that are flown are outsourced by companies that pay less, have worse work rules and quite frankly treat their employees much worse as they put their certificates on the line every day in order line your pockets. In the last few years, the profits made by the major carriers are astronomical, so why is there still such outsourcing going on? Why are you okay with a pilot flying a plane that says "Brand A" on the side getting paid significantly less than their counterparts? Why are you okay with "expanding your network" but only with those that do the job much cheaper? Why are you still okay with shifting flying to the bottom bidder and causing thousands of lives to be greatly impacted? I'm willing to bet it is to chase that all mighty dollar. The few carriers that don't practice this unique business are still doing well, if not better due to their ability to hire and retain hard working employees. So the argument that you have deemed valid about outsourcing keeps costs low and you could not survive without it is kind of moot.

Lately, as I'm sure you've noted, the bottom rungs have had to either increase their pay or flounder without hiring or retaining pilots. As a pilot I know the pay raises have not come about out of the goodness of your hearts while making money hand over fist. The pay raises are very minimal in terms of hard pay, instead lined with bonuses that keep pilots on property for a longer period to continue to work for less. I know these bonuses can disappear just as fast as they appeared as well. The pay is still abysmal for the job description and location you require employees to be. This new predicament has surfaced in many avenues of the media. However, the problem has been stated that there is a pilot shortage due to new regulations that impede new pilots careers. This I want to tell you is absolutely false. The 1500 hour rule is not the reason you cannot find pilots to fly your 50 seat airplanes. The issue is the contracts you have kept with these outsourced companies to represent your brand at a discounted rate. The retirement wave hasn't even begun yet but many regionals are tripping over each other to scrounge for new pilots. This situation will not get any better in the long term, as more than 35,000 pilots are set to retire by 2032. If you check the data, you will find that you are already behind in replenishing these ranks and it's only getting worse. So why keep kicking this can down the road? It is time to bring the flying back in house, to actually take care of ALL the employees that fly the planes displaying your wonderful brand you are so proud of. The days of taking advantage of willing participants are almost gone, as the dirty laundry has been aired. Pretty soon, the chase for that all mighty dollar will come to a halt because you did not take the time to realize what you have created. Cities are already losing service, flying is already shifting from outsourced companies that are bleeding heavily to those that are just starting to bleed. If you continue to walk down this path, you and all of your investors will have very trying times ahead. The decisions you've made in the last twenty plus years has led to this, not all of it being your fault. 9/11 and the recession were trying times for everyone in this country, times that did call for significant sacrifices in order to stay in business. But those days are no longer here, the airports are now brimming and air travel has never been in such high demand. It is time to make aviation a great career once again for those that have the passion. Every day you are losing potential candidates to other industries because the risk is less and the reward is greater elsewhere.

It is no secret and even public knowledge how much money some of you make annually, I'm not arguing that you don't deserve it because you do. You have earned that money through many years of hard work, but it has to be known that many in this industry at the outsourced carriers make a fraction of what you would consider a penny. A topped out Captain at a regional makes less than most second or third year FO's at their major counterpart. Does that seem fair? If the argument is "Well they should just move on" then you are missing the point, for some they cant move on because they have built lives for themselves during the many stagnant years this industry has endured. Some are now check pilots and love what they do, and do their jobs very well. Plus, if everyone moved on that would make your situation that much worse filling their seats, right?

I now work for one of those outsourced but wholly owned carriers, the people I work with on a daily basis are excellent ambassadors to aviation. They are professional, hard working, caring and love what they do. Many have been working here since before I was born, with years of exceptional service to this outsourced carrier. They are no less than those that fly the bigger metal displaying the exact same brand flying into most of the same places in order to meet your "streamlined experience". I am willing to bet this is true about all regionals as well. I hope this information is processed in a way that does not seem disrespectful, as I have respect for those that are in charge of making decisions in order to keep the doors open for business. I just know there has to be a better solution that those with your education and experience can formulate in order to keep your brand successful while treating all that fly within somewhat equal.

Best Regards,
A Regional Pilot
No offense but TDGAF. trust me. They never will. These guys are the top 1%. You are the LAST thing they think about. They're number one goal is making money. Period. You don't matter to them. If you become a problem, you are no different than a part on an airplane. R&R with P/N etc etc. But instead of P/N its an employee number.
 
No offense but TDGAF. trust me. They never will. These guys are the top 1%. You are the LAST thing they think about. They're number one goal is making money. Period. You don't matter to them. If you become a problem, you are no different than a part on an airplane. R&R with P/N etc etc. But instead of P/N its an employee number.

Well that is unfortunate but very believable. I hope the next few years will change managements approach to skilled labor, but I’ve also hoped that Selma Hayek would crawl out of my dreams and into my bed and that hasn’t happened yet :D
 
Well that is unfortunate but very believable. I hope the next few years will change managements approach to skilled labor, but I’ve also hoped that Selma Hayek would crawl out of my dreams and into my bed and that hasn’t happened yet :D
That makes two of us hahahah(the Salma Hayek part)
 
In our defense, not all all management 1%ers are a-holes. :)

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I'm always struck by how little airline pilots seem to know about the industry they work in. In my opinion it's not enough to learn to pilot an airplane. If you want to be an "airline pilot" then you should learn about the airline industry.
 
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