Excerpt...
The following true story is presented to exemplify such pressures and how they affected the career of an unfortunate staff pilot. During a period of steep fuel price increases, the Management of one airline set out to reduce fuel usage. Among several fuel-cutting measures was the decision to eliminate contingency fuel. When the staff pilot in question objected, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) promptly asked him how many flights ran out of fuel during the past year. The staff pilot admitted that none of them did but added that contingency fuel is like insurance. He was now trapped. The CFO countered that, if contingency fuel is like insurance, then the Company will assume that risk just as it did when it took over the health care insurance for its employees.
Needless to say the line rebelled when it heard the "good news" about Management's measures to save millions in fuel costs. They accused the staff pilot for selling out the line. Infuriated by such unwarranted accusations, the staff pilot went out of his way to enforce the new fuel policy. The result was months of confrontations between the staff pilot and line pilots, which included altercations and line pilots walking away from flights. During one such altercation the staff pilot asked the line captain what he needed the contingency fuel for? The captain's reply was simple and to the point: "If I could tell you what it was for, it obviously wouldn't be called contingency fuel now, would it."
Management eventually backed down, relabeled contingency fuel and returned it to the line. Unfortunately, the staff pilot's reputation was forever tainted. Much later a member of the CFO's staff confessed, it was his boss' policy to push everyone, including the pilot group, as hard as he could. He also admitted, his boss pays pilots as professionals, and that if they truly are the professionals they claim to be, they will not let themselves be pushed beyond limits set by their profession. It is evident from this example that the CFO does have a point. Pilots, especially those holding staff positions have a lot to learn. And the first lesson is to never, ever engage in any professional debate with lay people. If inadvertently caught in such a debate, they must immediately disengage. If pushed to explain his position, it is best if the pilot restricts his reply to pointing out the value of his expertise in professional matters and asking his superiors to accept his position on that merit. Of course, such discourse demands a little diplomacy—not a common skill among pilots—and, sometimes, an example to drive the point home.
In one case, a Chief Pilot successfully disengaged from a debate of professional matters by pointing out the Company's routine acceptance of professional opinion elsewhere. He asked the Controller if he would seriously consider cutting the legal department's budget in the middle of a law suit simply because the Company's Chief Counsel would not debate the reasons as to why he needed to follow a particular legal process. His example did not fall on deaf ears. It produced results no explanation ever could. The Head of Operations, an aeronautical engineer, understood the Chief Pilot's position and ruled that, henceforth, the Chief Pilot was to be the final word on Flight Operations matters.
By maintaining a solemn resolve to uphold professional convictions without debating their merits, staff pilots will earn not only the respect of their fellow pilots but also that of their superiors. Since mutual respect breeds harmony, the Air Carrier wins. ("Beyond Stick-and-Rudder" p. 292-293)