Originally Posted by
DAL 88 Driver
Thanks, LuvJockey. I knew there was no way the average SWA pilot salary could be so low when the average F/O makes over $140K and the average Captain makes over $230K. The guy that heads up that MIT Airline Data Project sailingfun likes to quote, is hardly impartial. Here's a very interesting tidbit from his bio:
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"Prior to accepting his research position at MIT, Swelbar spent 25 years in the consulting world with a focus on airline labor cost restructuring..."
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"If you torture the data long enough, it will confess." - Ronald Coase
You're right, Bill typically is in the far right management corner in his opinion pieces, but the data is straight from DOT form the airlines are required to produce. Any errors in the data typically originate in the way the respective airline chose to report information and come from the DOT or BTS, MIT just compiles and aggregates them. By comparing datasets over time you typically can eliminate those annual aberrations.
On the other hand I think Bill is right on in his latest OP:
The Ultimate Unintended Consequence: Government Proposals Will Kill Small Community AirService
BTW, select highlights from his CV (in case you can't tell he is not our "friend"):
In September 2006, Bill accepted a research appointment with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s International Center for Air Transportation following a consulting career began in 1984. Swelbar currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. In addition, Swelbar writes a widely read airline industry blog that can be found at Aviation Articles and Commentary - Swelblog / Swelbar on Airlines.
At MIT, Swelbar in conjunction with Gerassimos Tsoukalas and Dr. Peter Belobaba, published in the Journal of Air Transport Management a paper entitled: Cost Convergence in the US Airline Industry: An Analysis of Unit Costs 1996 - 2006. The topic maintains high interest today.
At MIT, Swelbar in conjunction with Alex Cosmas and Dr. Peter Belobaba, wrote a White Paper entitled:
Framing the Discussion on Regulatory Liberalization: A Stakeholder Analysis of Open Skies, Ownership and Control.
Alaska Airlines: Advised the airline on competitive issues facing it following significant cost reduction efforts at competitor airlines. The program provides an analysis of the “real time” and prospective impact on the carrier’s operations and workforce.
May 1999 Proposition RJ: An Alliance to Enhance Airline Competition. The industry’s first major study examining the impact of scope clause limitations on regional jet deployment. The research examined how scope clause limits put some carriers at a competitive disadvantage and restricted air service in some communities, helping to dispel the myth that regional jets destroyed jobs.
Cheers
George