http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1179...hps_us_pageone

WSJ article on the difficulty that airlines are having finding and keeping employees. I can't imagine why.

 

Any chance you could post the full article. I'm not a WSJ subscriber and cannot view it.

 

I guess not everyone is rich enough to subscribe to the WSJ I stick to the USA Today that I took from the hotel lobby... So my knowledge is very limited.

 

I can post an excerpt. Here it is:

Wrestling suitcases on and off planes got so grueling late last year for Southwest Airlines Co.'s 350 ramp workers in Chicago that by Christmas season one-fourth of them were reporting on-the-job injuries. Starting pay for the position: $8.75 an hour.

Airlines used to offer prestigious jobs with good wages and coveted flight benefits. Now, in the aftermath of aggressive cutbacks, a growing number of airline jobs are more akin to those at a fast-food restaurant. The pay is low, the work is tough and, in a new twist, airlines are having trouble hanging onto workers and finding new ones.



"What once was a glamorous job...doesn't look so good any more," says Andy Roberts, executive vice president of operations for Northwest Airlines Corp. Mr. Roberts says Northwest and its peers used to have a list of applicants "as long as your arm." Now, "we have to go seek them out, even pilots."

That's not good news for passengers, as the combination of fewer and less experienced workers is causing more service problems. Planes sit on tarmacs because airlines are short on gate workers. Service on planes is slower because many airlines are flying with fewer flight attendants. When bad weather hits, tight staffing may mean more delays or canceled flights.

The situation isn't likely to improve anytime soon. Although airlines were able to raise fares the last two years as travel surged, customers have begun to resist fare increases, domestic demand is softening, and jet-fuel prices have started rising again. These are the same pressures that contributed to more than $50 billion in net losses from 2001 through 2005.
The U.S. airline industry is profitable today in part because big network carriers shed more than 170,000 workers, or 38% of the total, between August 2001 and October 2006, according to the Air Transport Association. That happened even as the number of passengers flying has returned to pre-9/11 levels. Pay has fallen, sometimes substantially.

Capt. Gene Malone, a 56-year-old pilot for AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, says his annual pay dropped to $140,000 from $175,000 after the airline won concessions to stay out of bankruptcy. He's flying more overnight "red-eye" flights from his base in Los Angeles. He plans to retire early in about 18 months. "An airline career is not worth it anymore," says Capt. Malone. "It's a very different profession than it was 23 years ago when I started.".....

 

AHAA!! Pilots retiring in their 50's!! I know it's not your point in posting the article, but you'll see, even with the age changing to 65, things'll keep moving, even if a little slower.

 

But that was an AMR pilot, who still has a pension waiting and may want to make sure he gets it. Older guys at major carriers which have already dumped their pensions will tend to keep working. You might see continued movement at the lower end of seniority lists, as younger pilots become frustrated at the stagnation and quit.