I know, I know, I’ve been away for a while, again. For good reason though. I’ll get to the reason in a moment. What I want to talk about in this blog is aviation earning potential. I like to say “it WAS a great career”, then it became “a great JOB”, now “it’s JUST A JOB”. WHY!! Because the earning potential of a professional airline pilot has been eroded significantly over the past decade. Airline management has taken every economic hick-up and turned it into an opportunity to extract wages and benefits from the employee groups. Additionally, regional carriers have grown exponentially while mainline carriers have contracted. Regional carriers don’t pay very well and the resulting contraction of mainline carriers has limited opportunities for better paying professional airline pilot careers. If any of that is incorrect, or, if anyone has seen or heard good news coming from the airline industry contradicting what I just said, please let me know. The bottom line is career airline pilots bottom line earning potential has been very negatively impacted.

What to do. Well, work more to sustain you life style at your current job, find something ADDITIONAL to do, or change your lifestyle to something less. I see and hear the first two options being done on a regular basis, not so much the third. I’m involved in the second option, something additional. I’ve formed a product development company called Aloft Enterprises. What we do is design and manufacturer inexpensive products for jobs people want done. Our first product is currently being launched on the internet primarily and in some local retail stores where I live. It’s called STOR’EM. See all the details at STOR’EM. STOR’EM is a winding and storage device for light weight household items. It provides you with a portable winding, dispensing and storage device for things like extension cords, rope, chain, and, in its TARGET product launch form, specifically to a WIND AND STORE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS. It is a stupid simple idea but does not exist. It will eliminate the mess, simplify the task and improve storage for your Christmas lights and more. It will help you get and stay ORGANIZED.

How will this turn out? I have no idea! Will it supplement my airline career earning potential? I don’t know. But, it is something I like doing. That is how you should approach your additional activity. Do something you like doing. If it pays off great, if not, you’re doing something you like.

So, please check out the website and let me know what you think.

Back again for a short blog.

In reference to the latest airline accidents, there has been  a lot of discussion on pilot training. For example, what is mandated training, what is minimum training and train to standards. Some light has been shed on what carriers provide training over and above the approved standards dictated by the FAA. I would like to comment briefly on how those questions apply your career as a pilot.

The bottom line here is, and I know this sounds like a cliche or “the party line, but “it is your training”. Most, if not all aviation departments have a training feedback method. If you are not satisfied with your training, write a lucid letter to the person charged with handling the feedback, and explain in good detail what you disliked, why you disliked and, if your experience warrants it, make suggestions on how to make those items better. Don’t send a letter that is just a bunch of complaining without examples and suggestions. It will come across like whinning. Also, keep it to training issues. In other words, the content of the material, the manner in which it was presented, the instructor and perhaps the facilities. Don’t make it personal, make it professional.

While you are in training, make the most of it. Take the opportunity to ask questions, ask for another ILS or another single engine approach, ask for techniques and experiences of the people around you and most importantly, focus on while you are there. Finish all the bitching about having to go to training on the trip there so when you get there you can “get in the zone”.

I’m sure some of you who’ve read my previous blogs see the above as a departure from my not so corporate friendly disposition. Why the change? Because my rear end is at the front of the bullet and I want to get home to my family at the end of every trip. And I don’t know about about the rest of  you, but I don’t do a lot of studying on my own time. So, when I get there, I like to get “boned up” on the systems and hot topics. And I must say the training facilities and instructors at AA, if not best industry wide, have to be TOP 3.

Why all this about training. Two reasons. First,  you should know your job. In our case as professional pilots, that means in large part your airplane, along with policies, procedures, rules and regulations. For this blog, the emphasis is on the airplane part. As professional pilots, we should always be striving to learn more about the equipment we operate to the point where nothing the airplane is capable of surprises you, ever! Thing about that a bit. Second, there was a time when a major airline captain’s salary would allow him to “buy a corvet a month”. Airline management views us as an expense. Nothing more, maybe less. They will continue their assault on our profession. It is our responsibility to stop the assault and return the airline pilot profession to the compensation it deserves. As we work toward that goal, it is also our responsibility to as prepared for our work as possible. So take advantage of what ever training you’re involved and be prepared. Remember this, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we can lose our lives and or our licenses every day we go to work. Not many professions can say that, and we should be compensated accordingly. But, we have to prove we are worth it every flight operate.

Back soon with some new stuff and a new project.

Hello, been away for a while working on another project. I’ll share a little about that soon. For now, lets talk about the job of a professional aviator. 

Broken down simply, your job as a professional aviator is to move an airplane from point A to point B safely and efficiently. It starts to get complicated when you add in all the other factors. For example, what kind of plane are you moving, what kind of cargo are you moving, what type of flying are you doing – night, over-water, long haul, short haul etc. We’ll keep it simple here by limiting this discussion to moving an airplane safely.

I’m sure you’ve all read, seen or heard about the airplane that successfully ditched in the Hudson River.  I waited a little while to add my opinion and think it’s appropriate with the discussion of moving an airplane safely. There has been a lot of talk about the pilots being hero’s, the event being a miracle etc., etc. In fact, you’ve probably heard or seen the pilots attempting to not call themselves hero’s. For the record, I think they were hero’s. The pilots and the entire crew. Here’s why. To move an airplane safely can encompass a lot of different actions for a single flight, and, different from flight to flight. I use the expression “a walk in the park” for a day when every thing went right. “Once crisis after another” I use describe a bad day. In either case, the many actions required to move an airplane safely require the crew to constantly make decisions. Because of the 3 dimensional world aviators operate in, and I frequently tell young pilots if they’re not paying attention the third dimension will kill you, those decisions have to made rather quickly in many cases. You’re attention to detail during training will help a great deal with this process. This crew apparently paid attention. Although the airplane didn’t make it back safely, everyone did. 

Here is what they were faced with; they had approximately 3 minutes to – figure out what happened – determine what the options or courses of action were – choose the best one – and execute. As I’m sure you know, the happy ending says it all. Mission accomplished.

Are you prepared to operate your airplane safely every time you fly? Are you prepared to react quickly if needed? Can you make the difficult choice? That is the profession you are in. Constantly training, asking questions, reviewing manuals and paying attention to every flight is necessary to be a good aviator. Remember, that third dimension will kill if you are not paying attention. What an airplane does should never surprise you. (more on that in a later blog). 

When you come up for a raise or new job, remember the third dimension and it’s potential. Stand firm on your commitment to be a professional aviator who can move an airplane safely, but also stand firm on what a professional aviator should be paid. Don’t settle for a wage that may make you think about settling in an airplane. It may make the difference for whether you career stays aloft or afloat.

Well, 2009 has begun. I hope everyone had a prosperous 2008 in some manner despite all the gloom and doom Wall Street produced. Even more so, I hope you all have a very good 2009. With that in mind, I’ll attempt to discuss type ratings and tie it in to the last blog, Fly home for the holidays, where I spoke briefly about compensation.

Most major airlines pay pilots an hourly wage. I know it seems a bit strange, but that’s how it works. And, that hourly rate is dependent  upon 3 things; your longevity with the company, whether or not you are a captain or first officer, and how much the airplane weighs. Or, so we say, the more it weighs the more it pays. Pay scales for longevity usually max out at 10 or 12 years of service with the company. The other two parts of hourly pay rates are somewhat tied together. Normally, the more senior captains and first officers are flying the heaviest or largest airplanes. Why, because they pay the most. For corporate flying, I can’t say a lot about pay scales etc. But, I can say there is some correlation. You can expect to make less money in smaller corporate jets, in both seats, than you’ll make flying larger jets. Very simply, a Learjet Captain or First Officer will make less than a Gulfstream crew, who will make less than those flying something larger.

How does all this tie in with the last blog? I touched on compensation briefly in relation to our worth as professional pilots. How much we are worth, especially in corporate flying jobs, is strongly tied to what kind of aircraft “type ratings” we have. You need a type rating to act as a pilot in command. See FAR part 61 for definitions and requirements. The point is, the quantity and quality of type ratings on your license will have a great effect on what kind of job you can expect to get. By the way, just because you have a specific type rating doesn’t mean you’ll get hired as a Captain. Though not unionized for the most part, many corporate flight departments use date of hire, or some type of seniority, in conjunction with performance when determining who get the next Captain upgrade. See these two blogs for some insight to being a Captain, Learn to Fly – Civilian Path and The Informal Interview and You.

So as your career progresses, pay attention to what type rating options are available at each job you consider and how useful a particular type rating may be in the future. Keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to earn new or better type rating. While you’re doing that, be aware of any potential restrictions that may be placed on your type rating. Ideally you want none. I can give you 2 examples of restrictions on my ATP(airline transport pilots license). They are B757/B767/B777 – circling approach – VMC only, and 777 limited to FAR 121-543 operations only. In effect, a restriction is a limitation on your license you most likely don’t want. I cannot shoot a circling approach for AA as a Captain in those airplanes unless the weather is VMC. Big deal, right! You never know. Also, the 777 restriction mean I cannot act as a Captain on the airplane except for cruise flight. There is a bit more to this one, but suffice it to say, the restriction limits future employment opportunities since I don’t have a full ATP in the 777. Try to avoid an restrictions being placed on your license. It could limit your worth as a professional pilot!!!!

A type rating does cost an employer money so don’t be pushy when attempting to get them added to your license. However, protect your worth and be tactful when asking or suggesting you be allowed to get a type rating. The flying business is unpredictable and you never know when a type rating will come in handy for the next job.

That’s all for now.

Hello to all, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and all that stuff. I really mean all that stuff, too.  Take the time to enjoy the season and celebrate what ever it is you celebrate. 

If you have or are considering a flying job, flying home or being home for the holidays, any holiday that is, can be very challenging. I’ve recently received several emails from the APA, the union representing pilots at American Airlines, about the percentage of pilots who will NOT be home for the holiday(s). These emails, rightly so, included a comparison of how many management types would be home for the holidays. The numbers are  around 90 % of pilots working, while 90% of management is home. I include this brief side note for a reason. When it comes time for you to get a flying job and you consider that you are a professional, it took time and money to get to the point where you are qualified for a decent flying job, you could lose your license every time you go to work, you could not come home from work any given day among other things, don’t forget to consider time away from home on holidays and weekends when figuring what would be reasonable compensation for your profession. Sit down and understand what it is you do as a professional pilot and that not everyone can do it and what your career sacrifices will be. Don’t allow your profession to be minimized.  Unless you own your own flying business, your boss, manager or whatever will, no doubt, constantly try to pay you less for what you do. Go back to the statements above before deciding to accept less, and when presented the opportunity, remind them of the hazards you face daily.

And, if that’s not enough, check out the blog titled seniority, seriously.  This will help you understand how large the seniority issue looms in an aviation career. Big or small flight department doesn’t matter, seniority applies.

So, to wrap it all up, if you really want to be home for the holidays, every holiday, every year, don’t get a flying job. Get a different job and buy a ticket to fly home for the holidays. If you’re OK with missing a holiday or other family event on occasion, you’ll be OK with a flying job. 

Next week, or so, I’ll get back to some more civil aviation stories and some new topics for the new year ( and a happy one to all)

Back with a short blog on a couple opportunities to learn about an aviation career. I ran across these on my last trip and would like to share them with you. As I’ve promised in previous blogs, I will have a blog about commuter flying next, no kidding. For now, share what you are about to read with anyone and everyone you know who is interested in flying. Why? Because in today’s world you should take every opportunity to learn about future endeavors. There really is no excuse for going into to something new completely blind. Way to much information on just about any topic is easily available. So, in my opinion, there is no longer an ignorance excuse. Be responsible, do your research and share it with like minded people. You get the point.

 American Airlines has a company newspaper (company rag, as it’s referred to by most) to spread news about the industry, company programs, employee at-a-boys, and a lot of what they want us to believe. The latter part is referred to as “the company cool-aid”. Better explained as information they want you to hear and see to increase the chances you’ll believe what they say and act accordingly. Sometimes contained in the company rag are useful stories, good stories about people and activities. And American Airlines does sponsor some very, very good activities. They sponsor an award called the American Airlines Safety Award. It’s an award that is part of the National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference- NIFA SAFECON-which is an annual event held for collegiate aviators. In fact, it’s billed as the Final Four or College World Series for collegiate aviators. Nearly 90 flight teams from across the country compete in regional meets for a chance at the national level competition. Only 30 teams make the national event. The American Airlines  Safety Award goes to the team that made the greatest contribution to aviation safety through their own program’s procedures and methods of promoting aviation safety. Basically, competitors earn points for each eventat the conference. The team with the most points is crowned National Champion. The current American Airlines Safety Award winner is the U.S. Air Force Academy. The current National Champion is Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott Arizona Campus. The point here is two-fold; American Airlines has a number of worth whileprograms to promote aviation(probably more than most) but I’m sure they are not the only major airline who has them. So, if you are truly interested in becoming a pilot, do some research and look for activities like this to get involved in. You never know when something like this will turn into a future job. Have a quick look at the informal interview blog to see what I mean.

The other program I found in the company rag, better known as the Flagship News, is called ACE(Aviation Career Education) Academy tour. The tour was comprised of students who all have had some type of flight experience(translation-interested kids like yourselves if your reading this), simulator and or flying, and plan to have their pilot’s license when they turn 16. It included a tour of a 757 cockpit, hosted by an American Airlines Chief Pilot, a visit to the American Airlines Operations Tower, a tour of the Admirals Club(American Airlines VIP Club), a tour of the terminal along with several other aircraft. This was a school sponsored event supported by AA. Check our school for programs like this and if they don’t have one, here’s and idea, consider starting one. Imagine how being the originator of a successful program would look on a resume’?! Again, you never know what you may learn or who you may meet when you participate in an activity like this(see the informal interview).

I believe it is important to research your career field, at least a little, before you get involved. It is even more important when considering aviation as your career. The major airline jobs are, in brief, not what they used to be. Getting the training to become qualified for a major airlines is not what it used to be. However, there are some good flying jobs outside of the major airlines. Participating in programs like I mentioned above, and researching, may lead to a flying or aviation related job you never considered. So, keep your “heads-up” on your chosen learn to fly path. You never know where opportunity is hiding.

And yes, next blog will be commuter flying info. That’s all for now.

A recent trip revealed another learn to fly story, and “something else“. The Captain on my most recent trip echoed several other Captains who learned to fly on the civilian path. He was 16 years old, on vacation, when he got the flying bug. A ride in an open cockpit bi-plane was all it took. Upon returning from vacation, his long walk along the aviation career path began.  He traded labor for flying and instructing, and flew for a regional carrier before getting hired by a major airline. The “something else” was actually two fold and contained in the details of his path. Here they are.

  The labor for flying hours barter details just about blew me away. For the younger portion of the readers, I know it will blow you away. To begin, I have to offer a sort of standard disclaimer, which is, this story is not for people with weak stomachs, afraid of hard work or a self entitlement attitudes. So, here we go. The guy worked at his local airport in Groton Connecticut. Yes, he fueled airplanes, towed airplanes, swept, mopped and cleaned toilets for 10 and 1/2 hrs. In exchange for what you ask?! For one hour of flying time. That’s right! He worked 10 1/2 hours for 1 hour of flying time.  Freezing cold, stifling heat, Gail force winds, it didn’t matter. He worked when he was told. And by the way, when he worked was at the owners discretion.  So, 10 1/2 hours could have taken 1 day or two weeks to accumulate. Now, think about what I just said and how it would impact your schedule or life at that age. Then ask yourself if you would do it. A heavy metal flying job is something you really gotta want, no kidding. One part of the something else was that fact that a barter for flying opportunity existed. I don’t know for a fact, and I’m not a betting man, but I would bet on that opportunity no longer existing. The reason is because at or near minimum wage, you’d have to work nearly 20 hrs to cover the cost of one flying hour in today’s world.

Back to the story. He earns enough through barter to get a private license at 17 yrs old. Then, actually goes to work FOR PAY at the same airport while earning his commercial, instructor and CFI ratings. All together from the start it took him 3 yrs to become a flight instructor and actually get paid for flying. The next step was flying charter for 9 months, again at the same airport. With enough flying time under his belt, he moved up to a single pilot cargo job. Flying mail in a Beach 18, 6 nights a week to Canada was a prime stepping stone job at the time. He managed to last 2 yrs (not easy) and 2,000 hrs of flying time before the job went away. It happens often with small operators. Within 2 days of losing that job he was working for another company doing the same thing in Navajo’s and Baron’s. A year of that, plus 1 1/2 yrs at a commuter gave him enough flying time to start seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. And, it wasn’t a train. It was a job with American Airlines. He got hired with 7,800 hrs total time which wasn’t unusual for that era.

Now, if you revisit the progression of his jobs, and you’ve read any of the previous blogs, you’ve got to be thinking Informal Interview. Every job he got, before the commuter job, was due to an informal interview he didn’t know was happening. If you haven’t read either interview blogs, please do. There is good “stuff” in there.

  The second part of the “something else” is the fact that very little single engine charter flying remains today. What was once a great stepping stone job and an excellent training ground is becoming obsolete. Changes in operating costs, for example fuel, maintainence, and inspections, have risen dramatically. Add to that  the greatly increased cost of aircraft and the fairly recent chages to training requirements for charter operators, and it doesn’t take long to figure out why the small aircraft charter business is disappearing from the radar screen.

  To barter or not to barter? You may have to consider that for the civilian path. However, to charter or not to charter may soon not be a consideration as you plan your learn to fly path. Regardless of either of the above, remember this old attage, “Men plan and God laughs”. You’ll most likely find yourself in flying jobs you never considered and never in flying jobs you always considered.

Next blog-some commuter talk.

So far we have discussed a little about a lot. In keeping with that trend, here is a little about the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR’s) and the Airman’s information Manual (AIM). For starters, you’ll most likely find them in a book store as a single book. That’s the way I’ve seen them in the past. At least that is the way a dinosaur like me got access. To bring us into today’s world, the website for the FAR’s is http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgFAR.nsf/MainFrame?OpenFrameSet . It’s a good website with a logical breakdown of the regulation contents. http://www.powells.com/biblio?show=TRADE%20PAPER:NEW:9780071479240:19.95 is a good website for the combination book. There is also an aeronautical information manual out there as well. http://www.faa.gov/atpubs/AIM/ is the shortcut for that.

So, that’s where you can find them. But, what’s in them? What do you need to know about them? Well, here is my attempt to explain. The FAR’s are a source for rules and regulations. For example, what is a part 121 operator, or more basically what is part 121? The FAR provides detailed definitions in legal terms. For more detailed explanations of operational regulations and how they pertain to you as a pilot, go to the AIM. For example, if you want to know what type of lighting is required for a specific type of approach, go to the AIM. It provides a detailed explanation and in many cases provides a picture. The same goes for holding instructions and entry parameters. You’ll read it in the FAR’s 10 times and may not really understand it. But, if you refer to the same topic in the AIM, you’ll probably have a picture to refer to and will most likely save yourself from reading the extra five times. As is said, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. And, as we say in the instrument flying world, “a peak is worth a thousand crosschecks”.

The first time you take an instrument ride, under the hood, you’ll understand what I mean. During my time at Air Force UPT, when you were sitting in the back seat of a T-38, under the hood on an instrument ride flying box patterns at 300 knots, a peak was priceless. I can’t say worth a thousand crosschecks because at 300 knots around a box pattern, you just didn’t have time for that many crosschecks. I might add that, although it has been a long time since I flew a T-38, I remember it like it was yesterday, and I lived it!! Helmet, oxygen mask, G-suit, skinny wing, the smell of JP-4 dumping into the after-burner, flying formation and all the stars you can imagine seeing on a dark night at FL390 and mach .95 like a dart in the sky, is all a permanently etched experience.  It was 6 months of 12 hrs a day, 6 days a week work, but boy I loved it and wouldn’t trade it for anything. In fact, I’d do it again in a second. Sorry, got carried away for a minute.

Back to FAR/AIM info. While you’re learning to fly (civilian path or military path), you should become familiar with both. What I mean by familiar is to know and understand the layout and content of each. Even more to the point, know where to find things within the books.  As you progress through your chosen “learn to fly” path, you’ll no doubt run across the “fire hose” treatment. The “fire hose” treatment is a learning philosophy that basically says throw more information at a student than they can handle. On average, the student will absorb enough to pass the course and the rest they’ll learn as they go. Guess what? The as they go part is the part where you learned the information is out there and where it is but you simply couldn’t remember it all. Now, the fire hose treatment is no fun while you’re experiencing it. You’ll feel stress and like there is no way you can learn it all. Remember, most of us can’t. Focus on the foot-stompers(emphasis items). If you hear something more than once, it’s a foot stomper. Also, understand this; in the aviation career field you simply can’t remember everything about your aircraft and or regulations. But, you do need to know the information exists and where to find it. Although you may not have retained or learned all the info, you most likely learned where to find it.

So, in summary, check out the FAR and AIM manuals. They are frequently sold in a combined format and are available on the web. Get familiar with the areas you’ll be working under. Understand the importance of knowing where to find “it”. Lastly, never fear the fire hose treatment. It’s just out there!

Next week, more on FAR’s and a bit about Captain.

Back with a brief but thoughtful blog. As the title indicates, aviation careers for the most part have been in a tailspin since 2001. There are some flying jobs at major carriers, and corporate flight departments still worth having but the number are small. I’ve been with the same airline for nearly 17 years and it didn’t take me long to realize airline management (across the board) would prefer to operate without people (accept for themselves) and behave accordingly. And if that’s not true, it’s hard to tell by the way employees are treated in relation to how management treats themselves. Allow me to present a perfect example. When the pilot group at American Airlines signed its last contract before the concessionary one of 2003, Don Carty, the then CEO (Buffoon) said “I’ve signed a contract I can’t live with”. From that day forward his approach was to violate, subrogate, and abuse the contract at every possible opportunity. And yet, during his tenure a $240 million investment in Canadian turned into $60 million, TWA and Reno acquisitions lead to no gain other than the personnel that came with them and began 4 major terminal construction projects at virtually the same time. In effect, he and the current AA CEO, Arpey, who was at the time the CFO, managed to spend all the money built up by the company over the past several years and left them no where to turn in the face of the 2001 fallout. That is all the management they did, but believe me they got paid handsomely. And yet the Wall Streeter’s seem to think Carty did something good. (P.S. – don’t believe anything you hear from those guys. They don’t speak unless they can gain $$ from it.) Because of this and other issues, there has been, perhaps an 18 month honeymoon during my tenure when there wasn’t some type of management/employee contentious crap taking place. Whether it’s a pending strike or strike by any employee group, an acquisition, a contract negotiation, a furlough, new hires, contract violations or attempted violations, attempted outsourcing or whatever. It seems there is always something going on you simply can’t ignore 100 percent of the time that just drags your enthusiasm below your belt line. Couple that with the current state of the industry causing much uncertainty and I have to caution any would-be aviators about the career they think they want! Corporate flight departments have different employee relations that seem to be better than airlines. However there are factors that can quickly affect the condition and existence of corporate flight departments. A brief list would include mergers, acquisitions and economical cycles. The first two can erase a flight department from the radar screen once the deal is done. Some, all, or none of the members may join the surviving flight department.  Economic cycles can also have the same results without a surviving flight department. To quote Dirty Harry “So tell me, are ya feelin’ lucky today”!? 

Eventually the industry will pull itself out of the quicksand; at least it has in the past. But, what will be left is a big question mark. Will there be pay commensurate with the job. I mean will it be worth it to go to a job where you could lose your life and or your license every time you show up. Let’s put it this way, in this career you do things with the thought of the hearing that could take place!?! You think from the hearing backwards and approach the situation from that perspective. Because, if there is a problem, there will be a hearing and you will be second guessed. If that’s not bad enough, the thought has occurred to me on numerous occasions whether or not I’ll make it home from a trip. You just don’t know who or what is getting on your airplane these days. People are crazy and if you get one on your plane you won’t have to worry about a hearing. Now, I haven’t begun to discuss the monthly and yearly training requirements, the experience required to get a good flying job and many other hazards associated with a flying career. So, how much is a job like this worth. How much is time away from home, working holidays and weekends for an extended period of time worth? Currently, I don’t believe it will pay you back for the time and effort spent to get here. That breaks the golden rule of worth!! If there were significant main line hiring, serious consideration of an airline career would be appropriate. Right now, however, there is very little hiring and even less progression due to worldly circumstances. You could be a co-pilot your whole career, perhaps for a regional, if you even have a whole career with one carrier. And a short look at the airline industry over the past twenty years will give you an idea of the volatility in the business. If you’re young enough not to remember some recent fallen, but once large and proud airlines, ask your parents. Examples are TWA, Pan Am, Eastern, Braniff, Texas Air, Peoples Express, and the list goes on. Ask them if they know anyone who is a pilot. Take note if they start the answer like this – I know someone who used to work for – (insert failed carrier here).

So, think about your career choice. Make sure you really want to fly and that it is not something you think is “cool” and will do for a little while. And maybe, if you really want to fly, you should consider flying for the military. Today it seems to be a much more secure job and even though you’re in the military, in today’s world it may not be any more hazardous than a civilian airline job. 

More on seniority, the FAA and AIM soon.

Hello, sorry for the brief absence. Back today with the mother of all topics – SENIORITY. I know I said I would post another blog about the civilian path, and I will, but I need to gather some more info on FAR’s and AIM for the sake of accuracy. So, I decided to cover perhaps the least understood and potentially most important topic in an airline career.  This is my view on what seniority is, it’s potential impact on your career, and how to get it.

Seniority….  What it is, is simply this - your position on the employee list at your company based on date of hire. In other words, any one hired before you is SENIOR to you and any one hired after is JUNIOR  to you. If you are part of a class (more than one person) of new hires, a common way to determine who gets the first seniority number in the class is by date of birth. The oldest person in the class gets the first seniority number and the youngest gets the last. In my class of 18 new hires, I was second to last. Sounds bad, but, I was also one of the youngest people in my class. More on age and seniority in a bit. So, that’s how you get a seniority number. Once you get, it counts for nearly everything in the operational part of your career. What I mean is it matters for things like which of the company’s aircraft you get to fly and when you get to upgrade to Captain etc. These things are referred to as career progression and they are all solely based on your seniority number. None of it is merit based.  For those not familiar with this topic, I suggest you read those last two sentences a couple of times and attempt to understand how the concept can affect your life as an airline pilot. Meanwhile, here is something you can understand now. You could be the biggest kiss-ass known to man and it won’t matter for your Captain upgrade or other career progression desires. Clear enough!! Finally, it has nothing to do with health benefits or other non-career progression type stuff.

Why is it relevant to your airline career. Most major carriers, regional airlines included, are unionized. And within a union, your date of hire counts, and counts big time, for everything you do, can do or wish to do. Keep that in mind as we progress in our discussion. Now, a  more detailed explanation of seniority goes something like this; you are a first officer for an airline with 3 different types of airplanes; a small narrow body like a B737, a medium size like a B757/767, and a large wide body like a B777. You’ll likely start as a new hire in the smallest airplane in the fleet of your airline. Why? Because you have NO SENIORITY. And, because most carriers have a weight/speed formula that determines your hourly pay rate for each airplane. Yes, as a professional pilot in a lot of cases you get paid by the hour. And, if you read the previous statement carefully, you may have come to realize that the more a plane weighs, the more it pays. It is for this reason you’ll likely be in the smallest airplane of the fleet as a new hire. The pilots who’ve been around, or, the pilots with seniority, are flying something bigger because the pay is “bigger”. So, you are now a B737 first officer. How do gain seniority? You gain seniority by moving up in your seat when pilots above you (senior to you) on the list for your airplane move up to a larger airplane or perhaps a captains seat. Remember that, it’s the pilots above you leaving that make a difference in your seniority. Gaining a number of pilots below on the seniority list is a good thing in that it is a form of job protection. If there is a furlough (airline talk for layoff), the pilots on the bottom of the seniority list (the newest hires) will be laid off first. As I said, that’s nice, but it’s your UPWARD MOVEMENT on the list that really counts. Here is a short list of other career progression, and, what we call quality of life issues, that are dependant upon you seniority number. First, where you will fly out of, your domicile. Second, your daily and monthly schedule. Third, your vacation schedule. And, last but not least, your pay. As a member of a union, you bid (wish for) these things either monthly, quarterly or annually. What you actually get is based on your seniority number. If you’re near the bottom of the seniority list you’ll get the leftovers. In other words, you’ll be flying an airplane no one else wanted, from an airport no one else wanted to fly out of, on weekends and holidays, and fugetabout a summer or holiday vacation. You won’t get it nor will you have any money to spend anyway! Seniority in your seat is the only thing that will change those kinds of events. Still want to be an airline pilot? If so, read on to find out how get real seniority.

By now you know and understand how and where your seniority number comes from. So, what to do about it? Get hired young (meaning 25 or less) or at the beginning of a hiring cycle, or both. Remember my discussion about great Captains, specifically, Choo-Choo Charlie? He was fortunate to have both. More on that in a second. Some thoughts on how each learn to fly path can effect your career. If you go the military path, you may get hired early in a hiring cycle, but due to the 10 year commitment, you won’t get hired young. You also won’t be broke, because, as a 10 year Captain or O-3 equivalent, you get paid well with benefits. If you go the civilian path, you could get hired young and at the beginning of a hire cycle. The odds, however, are not in your favor. You’ll need to stay focused on getting flying time and licenses while figuring out how to pay for it all, plus living expenses. And, in case you live in a cave and aren’t aware, the recent, ridiculous increase in fuel costs is having an impact on any and all flying operations. Going the civilian path will cost you! I have to put in a plug for a flying school right here, right now. ATP Flight School, check it out. On their web page and brochures it states “Seniority is Everything, Get there first with ATP”. This tells me that they get, they understand the effects of seniority on your career. If you are going the civilian path, you’ll want to choose carefully how to spend your money to build flying time. Look around for aviation schools with signs that they understand seniority and can get you where you want to go efficiently. You have no control over when a major hiring cycle will occur,  but you can control whether or not you are prepared to get hired. Back to my earlier reference about a great Captain. If you are lucky enough to get hired young and at the beginning of a major hiring cycle, like Choo-Choo Charlie, don’t lose the big picture. I’m sure you’ll have worked hard to be hireable, but some luck will certainly be involved. As you’re enjoying a career with real seniority, flying as a Captain most of your career with weekends and holidays off, don’t forget the luck part. Stories about #$%&*!!!! Captains (insert your favorite word) frequently reveal the fact that this person was hired at the beginning of a hiring cycle, young to boot, has basically had a great deal for a career and totally lost the big picture. Completely forgotten about his/her good fortune and that the majority of the rest of us haven’t had the same good fortune career wise. Not Choo-Choo Charlie. He had the good luck (and hard work) but you would never know it. He remains professional about the job of flying, managing a crew and keeps it fun. I’ve never heard anything but positive comments. So, good luck, but don’t lose the big picture.

Next week, FAR’s, AIM and your career.