Recently I have been accused of a lack of respect for my own chosen profession and that is not entirely true. I had a deep respect and admiration for my job and with head held high strode to work with steam in my stride because I thought I was doing something important in this world and that I was building towards a bright and growing future.

Experience has taught me otherwise. I wish the reality matched my beliefs but like a kid who discovers that most of the magic of childhood isn't true I watched as every one of my highest held beliefs about aviation fell.

I respected my profession. It was the profession that didn't respect me or my friends. We can all pound our fists in the sand and say it isn't so but the writing is on the wall. Employers don't care about pilots anymore. The job has been devalued. A flood of pilots with thousands of hours of empty RJ time pile in at every job fair and convention.

Most of the arrogant captains today wouldn't come close to qualifying if they were to try to get hired today with the resumes they had even 10 years ago. The market is awash with jet time and glass cockpit magicians. It isn't about the educated and skilled professional anymore but about how much a pilot will sacrifice for the job.

Who has respect for experienced pilots anymore? Man I wish I knew.

SkyHigh

 

Bravo Bravo Well said, from the big man himself!

 

you held your head high when you worked for national at those rates undercutting everyone else that flew the 757 or just about any other airplane out there.

pilots are greedy and only think about themselves. that's why this industy has fallen apart and you are no different. I've seen it in student pilots, flight instructors, regional national and major airline pilots.

you took a job that undercut others in the hope of getting something better (alaska). the problem is that your airline didn't make it and now you are bitter. if national would have taken off with those rates like southwest jetblue and airtran did I'm betting that you would be singing a different toon.

by the way respect it highly overrated. just look at airline CEO's. how many airline employees still respect them?

 

"Who has respect for experienced pilots anymore? Man I wish I knew."

There is an easy answer to that question. Other pilots.

 

Absolutely SkyHigh, and good for you. It's all about integrity. Through a disappointing experience, you came to the conclusion you have more respect for yourself than the industry has for you. All the metrics support such a conclusion, and the reality of it is that pilots created it. While I value the sincere works of all pilots wellpaid or underpaid, wages are mainly driven by supply.

 

"Recently I have been accused of a lack of respect for my own chosen profession and that is not entirely true"

Then you say things like:

"I had a deep respect..."
"I respected my profession..."

I'd rather eat lunch and go for a bike ride on the beach than go back and pull up all the quotes that prove you don't respect the profession TODAY. And, what you write is so slanted by that opinion that I know for a fact that some of what you write is totally inaccurate.

But this forum is all about differing opinions, therefore, you have an audience for your stuff, which is all that really matters.

People that don't resepct the profession, TODAY, should not be involved in it.

 

Respect? Isn't it a accepted wisdom that the airline/aviation business is on the leading edge of economic up and down cycles? If so, then I would think the airline/aviation industry is also on the leading edge of changing labor economics; the general downsizing of pay/benefits for highly skilled individuals. Pilots not getting "respect" is just a mirror image of what nearly every other working profession now experiences; less pay, less benefits, (the stress of impending health insurance reduction or no health benefits at all) and more hours per week coupled with the threat of off-shoring, adds up to less security. Its not just the airlines & aviation, its just that we notice it most because of our association with the industry. But its nation wide. Of course this is excepting the often (and generally accepted) maligned CEO's getting 400-500 times the average wage. But they don't have job security either (they last on average all of four years) although with rather different financial consequences. Its a bit delusional to deny we have a de-facto ruling class in this society and also delusional that we have an elected government that's going to protect us from those forces. Until then pony up to the ever shrinking career.

 

WTF are you talking about? It's not like you're Ghandi, Rosa Parks or Biko. You picked a career, you had [fill in the blank] bad luck, bad timing or made the wrong choice at the wrong time. Now if you were a teacher, who got into teaching based on the noble desire to improve youth and society and then had a run of bad luck, got disillusioned and quit you might have something valid to say...but that isn't the situation here. You seem like the kind of pudknocker who went out and bought a Rolex after completing IOE posing in the terminal on your days off in uniform...real noble.

Before you get your already up your butt panties anymore up your butt, I'm on my fifth airline including a furlough and bankruptcy, and guess what...I didn't give up and go sniveling to those who were doing "better" than I was at the time. I got off my ass, kept going to work (while supporting a family), did whatever it took to make ends meet. Now I've got a great flying job and likely will to retirement. That is both a measure of me doing my research and picking a job based more on business than emotion (cargo vs. pax) and...guess what, some good luck. If I had made a wrong choice and/or had some more bad luck I sure wouldn't be on a pilot website justifying my lack of fortitude and commitment, I'd be using my energies and hopefully knowledge gained by my shortcomings and get it right somewhere else. But for all I know, this may not be your first (or last) pityfest.

Diminishing regional captains on a pilot website is such transparent bitterness on your part it's pathetic. And you know what else? Management has NEVER respected pilots anymore than many here who have forgotten more about aviation than you'll ever know will ever have for you. Get a grip.

 

1. why
2. what exactly do you respect about this industry

 

Have you been on this web site long??

SkyHigh