Paul * (55 years old) has been a pilot of one of the largest airlines in Japan for 30 years and has been a captain of international and domestic flights. .. This summer, the pilot shortage is partly due to theaccelerated layoffsduring the COVID pandemic and the cost and difficulty of training new pilots, with nightmarish delays and thousands of people. It led to the flight cancellation of the passengers. United Airlines will reduce50 flights a dayfrom Newark Airport starting next month. American Airlines will cancelflights to Ithaca, NY and Toledo, Ohio in September.Southwest Airlines is facing a pilot protest over low wages,. And bad scheduling.(Airline Pilot Associationsays there is no shortage of pilots, airlines reduce and cancel flights as a cost-cutting measure and lie about it.)Paul is in a hellish state where he and other pilots are now enduring the post DANA KENNEDY.
At midnight he has just finished a transcontinental flight to New York. He will return to the air tomorrow at 3 pm. This is part of the recent increase in time. I had at least 15 days off a month for most of my career. Now I have only 10 days off and it costs money. I was only planning to take a rest for 6 days in June.
I'm tired. Flying is not as fun as it used to be. Working only 15 days a month, becoming a pilot was once the best part-time job in the world. no more.
The pressure is real. There is pressure to fly when you are tired. You must select the check box that is suitable for flying at the beginning of every flight. After 30 minutes, it may change. But when I check that box, everything that is legitimate rests on my shoulder. From that point on, the company is exempt from how I behave.
In recent years, there have been many problems that the general public is unaware of, and there are currently some results. There are some serious issues that can affect your safety.
First, training active pilots is much less (early) and less frequent. Previously trained every 6 months, then pushed every 9 months and now only once a year. And when they train, they compress things just to check for legitimate boxes.
If the pilot travels by flight, otherwise Is legally not allowed to fly. This usually happens at the end of the day when the crew is most tired.
No one knows unless there is something wrong. But that's why I keep a copy of all my flight plans. Because when an incident occurs, it is scrutinized and it turns out that there are actually two flight plans created on some trips. They call it a "revision", but in some cases it is to avoid flight and working time requirements.
So you often have to push it just to get home. Pressure can also make you angry or anxious. And humans make mistakes under this kind of pressure — whether it will ultimately result in loss of life or damage to the aircraft.
The pandemic had to be retrained Or, if they went too long, they couldn't or didn't want to go back. Many older people did not leave because they received $ 500,000 in PPE to sit at home.
Many new [airline] admins have an MBA, but they are not familiar with airlines and many are "awakened" so they do nothing. Neither masks nor vaccines were required. The vast majority of people in my company didn't want to be vaccinated.
I didn't have to wear a mask in the cockpit. You wouldn't have been able to work with the mask on. I told the flight attendants not to escalate due to the situation of the mask on the plane. Some of the Attendees will look like little Nazis and can chase someone with a mask under their nose. I said, don't. They became government deputies, but [but] had no training to lift the escalation. I told them, call first and we can ask law enforcement agencies to deal with them [in the field]. Do not escalate by plane.
The flight when it started in the 90's used to be It was pretty clean. Then it became a race to the bottom. Airlines started trying to sell fares and get customers, but everyone started buying tickets on Expedia. It was all about getting customers. The margins were so thin that I started calling them "Wal-Mart models". For everyone, flying required a lot of fun and comfort. Many fame has also been lost.
Then I came on September 11th. I saw the South Tower coming down from the LaGuardia tarmac. I thought there was martial law. It was a dark day for the airline. I knew some of the lost people. And then the machine took over and the entire military-industrial complex was taken over, affecting everything. There wasn't really the same thing. Early after 9/11, I made sure my crash ax was right to grab it in the cockpit and not be tied to the wall in case someone rushed into the cockpit.
They have taken some time to hire new pilots since 9/11. They were trying to see what would happen. There weren't many customers. Even during the Obama administration, it was sometimes seen as some waiting. But when Trump took office, everything looked really good for everyone. It was as if the sky was the limit and I couldn't look back. Then COVID was a hit and the fur came along with it. Now we have Biden who has never done a real job in his life. He didn't have to solve the real problem in the real job. All he and everyone else in Washington does is cause problems to keep the business going.
At that time, we got friends and family I got a free or discounted ticket, but now I tell my relatives. You are better off going online and paying because you can get a better seat than I can get you. The only advantage I'm flying as a passenger is that I can take one of the jump seats. I prefer it to being packed with passengers.
Don't get me wrong, I'm blessed to be here. I'm at the top of my game. I'm at the top. I did a tough job, and I'm here at 37,000 feet alive the dreams I had when I was a kid. When I started in 1992, I was paid $ 14.25 per hour. Currently, my base salary is $ 240,000 excluding overtime.
I know people are worried about flying this summer, but I never tell anyone not to fly. Flying is safer than driving. And there are still many pilots like me who have a lot of experience knowing what they are doing. Pilots act with a sense of mission. They want to take those passengers to their destination.
I'm a pressure player. I'm usually pretty relaxed, but when I hit a fan, I put in gear and get to work. I perform best under pressure. Many pilots of my age do so.
* Paul's name has been changed to protect his identity.