Originally Posted by
Lambourne
The airline loses availability due to the reservist often having "duty" on weekends, holidays and super bowl Sunday. Why take a guy that is not going to fly his seniority? If you need two for every one mil pilots you hire because they are not available, it doesn't make good business sense. When a company has to contribute to a b-fund each month for a pilot that doesn't turn a wheel that is an extra cost.
It isn't discrimination, it is smart business to hire someone that is actually going to be present and able to work for you. Being a MIL pilot isn't a race or a religion. This is not a discrimination issue. It is a business issue. With the level of qualifications coming from the regionals it will make a side by side resume comparison simple. One is going to cost the airline xx more to employ. The company chooses the best candidate that meets the standards and can be reliable to show up for a trip assignment.
The cries of "discrimination" are downright funny. All the airlines want is a pilot that is going to work for THEM. USERRA is a social handout for mil. The same type of handout you probably rail against when given to someone other than yourself. If there was a law to protect ditch diggers you would be aghast and up in arms at YOUR money going to such a program.
I have a list of MIL stereotypes. You want to pick one for yourself?
You sound like you are a bean counting management pilot who can't see the forrest for the trees.
Your logic and argument that hiring reservists and guardsmen costs companies money is one of the most myopic views I have seen on this forum, not to mention unpatriotic and un-american. Using your logic no company, airline or not, should hire reservists as it hurts the bottom line. This implies you believe that companies should place more importance on a small fraction of a percentage of labor costs than on complying with the law or supporting the men an women who are fighting and dying for our country as well as their companies' ability to operate securely in the global market place.
CAL has illogically understaffed its pilot force for the past 3 years by furloughing 147 pilots. They have abused the poor language and scheduling sections of contract 02 to barely operate an intense summer schedule. Military pilots on voluntary and involuntary LOA's have saved junior pilots jobs, keeping them on property in one of the worst job markets our country has seen. By keeping these junior pilots (all on the infamous B-scale) on property the company is actually saving money.
I find it hard to believe that a line pilot would make your argument. You stated that USERRA is a social handout for the military. USERRA is there to protect military members from the likes of management scumbags like you.