So I heard in recurrent that 90% of fatigue calls are coming from pilots under the age of 30. I didn't realize they track these stats but, if true, what is this, a generational thing? Is the entitlement generation not getting the love they need to carry on? Here, I'll say it so that you guys feel better; We appreciate all that you do.
I am under 30. I've worked over a dozen different jobs in my "young punk" life to make ends meat. I worked 9 of those jobs through college, mostly with a full course load. Day shifts, night shifts, indoor, outdoor, physical labor, desk...you name it. I did anything necessary to support myself.
The highlight? Well, this one time, I got a beer bottle thrown at my crotch while I was dressed like a chicken in the Florida heat trying to coax customers into a Pollo Tropical (a-hole had great aim from a moving car, btw). In a split second, motorists witnessed a human-sized chicken (once standing tall and proud) collapse into a yellow ball of feathers on a 95 degree sidewalk. About 45 minutes later, I had a gun in my face because my store was being robbed. Two hours after that, I was taking a Calculus II midterm.
Fast forward 8 years: I still work hard. I earn my paycheck, and then some. I work for a "super" regional airline. Yet, I am still treated with the same respect as that fast-food, roadside chicken. I've worked to the point of physical and mental collapse in past jobs. I know what fatigue is---but I don't want to approach that personal limit with passengers in the back, let alone a multi-million dollar aircraft. I just won't do it. It's not worth bodily harm or my career.
I refuse to put my neck on the line for the deficiencies of others. My dignity may have died along US-1 that hot Miami day, but my work ethic didn't. They can properly staff the airline. "90% of the fatigue calls are coming from pilots under the age of 30"...BITE ME.
