The goal of the ATA, Aircon, etc is this:

Have the largest pool of warm bodies available to sit on the sheepskin. Then you can offer the position at price so low that even if only 10% are willing to take the job you have filled the seats. This is not new, it has been going on for decades. They have just been getting better at it over time.

Current bag of tools in use:

- Create and maintain the perception that there is a pilot shortage

- Create and maintain the perception that pilots get paid a pile of money and work very few hours

- Raise the retirement age ( age 65 )

- Lower the barriers to entry ( MPL )


They are winning, have been winning, and nothing is going to stop or slow them down.

 

The MPL is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have had to face since flouridation.

 

Can't wait for all those vietnam era pilots to retire!

 

Everyday that goes by, I get a little closer to concluding that military aviation will eventually be the only place that demands any kind of excellence, skill, or work. Any other type of professional flying is becoming a giant shortcut to mediocrity.

 

Great Artical... Sullly for DOT Secretary !!

 

Ya... I read the thread... hence the question. I did a Google search. Thanks.

 

How about head of the FAA? Woerthless will sell us out - again.

 

This post should be STICKY!!!!!

 

And when UAV's take over most of the combat ops ... but that's a topic for another thread.

 

Unmanned tactical aircraft can exist due to the progress in automation and remote technology versus the slower progress in aircraft performance.

It all seems like a race to me...Professional, skilled pilots can only convincingly justify their existence to the public when perceptions exist that automation and remote control technologies aren't sophisticated enough to safely and efficiently manage performance.

I haven't yet flown a day of 121 or 135...but it stings to read the following on a blog about why pilots don't get tipped:

"As a pilot myself, I find it amusing how everyone thinks we make big bucks. People always figure we have hundreds of lives in our hands, both in air and on the ground, but that isn't true. Airline planes have auto-pilot, so the people in the cockpit are really just there to make the passengers feel better. The big jets can fly without pilots, but who would get on a plane being operated by some guy in a dark control room at an undisclosed ground location? Of course, the salary of pilots isn't so bad when you consider the benfits they get. All pilots are compensated fairly for their work, just like everyone else with a job."

Y'all remember that?

It came from this blog:

StraightForward Media Blog Blog Archive Don’t forget to tip your airline pilot!

Originally discussed on APC through this thread:

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/re...-get-tips.html

I only wish that the good captain's interview today was given more attention than it probably has been.