Dear Sir,
I am writing to your because I am deeply concerned about the state of airline labor. I am sure you are aware of the recent wave of incidents that have plagued commercial flights for the past year. No matter the major cause of the crashes, one undeniable fact is that airlines are putting less experienced pilots in the cockpit.
Airlines experienced a mild pilot shortage before this recession and subsequently hired pilots who had very little experience. {Any pilot with a pulse could get a job. This was due to decreased hiring minimums, which made these jobs flying passenger planes available to less experienced individuals. (delete)} This trend the airlines had is one of self-destruction, and also eroded the safety that the flying public once took for granted. (you had a bunch of tense issues in this paragraph - stick to all past tense or all present - don't switch mid way through)
Due to the recession which has taken place, thousands of pilots have been furloughed. The pilots who are still working have had their salary cut repeatedly, sometimes by more than half. These pilots are getting wages that do not suit the skill or responsibility the job requires. A First Officer makes anywhere from $16,000 - $30,000 (put in the right numbers) for their first few years. Along with decreasing pay, the cost for flight training has gone up exponentially. A 4 year flight education from a university can now cost over $200,000. Because of this, there is a shortage of well qualified individuals. Instead of raising wages to attract these types of pilots, the airlines have lowered their standards for hiring and training events. This in turn leads to an inexperienced crew which can spell disaster if faced with an emergency situation. These pilots have 50 to 90 plus lives in their hands and they need to be experienced and well trained.
We need to help reform airline labor so that pilots can do their job without overbearing financial worries. The job set forth to pilots is worth way more than what they are currently paid, and I think we will start to see this take a toll on the quality of people obtaining pilots licenses. Captain Sullenberger said it best when he stated that the only reason we have such competent people now is because being a pilot recently meant outstanding pay, job security, and positive public recognition. All of these perks have left the airline pilot industry, and current pilots are just trying to survive let alone save money for personal needs such as long vacations.
The reform absolutely needs to take place within the next year. And the following should be included: higher pay across the board, better job security, regulating the management that airlines have so pilots do not become ATM machines for revolving door CEOs and board members, and also we need to set a government enforced hiring standard for pilots that will reflect the amount of experience necessary to do such a high risk job.
Unless we fix these things, we will see many negative effects on the flying public and their safety. Also, less qualified individuals will be at the hands of a yoke with hundreds of lives dependent on their skill. We need to make the piloting profession viable for people economically again. I think the mild shortage before the recession is a warning sign of things to come. How low will the hiring standards go when the next hiring wave the pilot industry experiences after this recession goes away and the airlines are scrambling for enough pilots to fill the seats dealing with the fact that a lot less pilots have graduated due to the poor working standards to look forward to?
Thank you for taking the time to read my letter and I hope you will help the cause in any way that you can.
