I'm not old, and I'm not wise, but I have learned my lessons. Let the hot air flow!
Back before SWA I worked for a carrier in a 3 person cockpit. I was in the right seat. The panel seat was occupied by a mix of super senior "I Ain't goin no where" 60+ guys, and super junior guys. Post 911, things went from Utopian to "Bagdadish". Furloughs began almost immediately with the hardest hit category being the junior guys on the panel. I can't tell you how many times I flew with guys on their last trip. Houses and cars would be sold to make ends meet. The wife would go back to work. The optimism of these guys was amazing considering the challenges which lay ahead. I would also fly with the 60+ guys on the panel and often, on the longer legs, our discussions would turn to the furloughs and the future health of the company. I would ask these guys if they thought, by them retiring, a younger guys job could be saved. Their response was almost always the same.."Ask someone who cares." or "It's part of this business". I asked them if they thought having an older guy like themselves retire while keeping the less expensive junior guy would save the company some hard needed cash. They knew where I was coming from and their F-U stare said it all. 6 months later my turn on the furlough list came.
I now sit at the bottom of another seniority list, this time at SWA. I'll preface my continuing rant by saying I love this company. It reminds me of the golden days at my old carrier .."The last job you will ever have." I feel honored to be here. I do not think though, for one second, that this company is infallible. Good companies make big mistakes, mistakes which can affect their financial stability. SWA is about to make one, affecting every pilot from the top down.
COSTS COSTS COSTS.
We hear it every day. Do what ever you can to control costs and save money. Our two biggest costs are fuel and payroll. Months ago I had the privilege of meeting Gary Kelly. I also had the opportunity to ask him a question. My question was whether or not he felt our pay was justified considering the direction the rest of the industry was heading. He said yes, as long as we BECAME more productive. He implied that each pilot would have to do more if we are to keep things the way the are. PILOT PRODUCTIVITY JUSTIFIES OUR PAY AND MAKE US PROFITABLE. After he said that I thought immediately about our pilot group and what, if any, impact a 65 retirement age would have on our productivity and in turn our pay and benefits. By changing the retirement age to 65 are we making the pilot group more or less productive? Are we going to make the company more or less profitable?
The Fallout!!!!!!!!!!
Two companies are at the forefront of the push to change the age 60 rule, Southwest and Jet Blue. SWA have a relatively old pilot group with a large number of age 60 retirements expected over the next 5 years. Jet Blue has a relatively young group with very few retirements over the next 5 years. Which airline will be most impacted by a change in the 60 rule. You guessed it....SWA. The question is, how will it be impacted and how will it affect our competitive edge in an industry where pennies make a difference?
Productivity: As pilots age we tend to be less productive. We work less, get sick more often, and account for a large percentage of the disability claims. The older and more senior you are, the more expensive you are to employ. The higher the average age of your pilot group, the more costly you are. It's why furloughs don't make companies profitable. You get rid of the young guys while keeping the older guys. The end result is drop in productivity and a skyrocket in the average cost per pilot. To offset this, management immediately goes for the quick fix..pay cuts. They don't work because then you have bred discontent, which in turn negates any benefit a pay cut would have wrought. Only by holding down the average age of an employee group are you able to control costs. SWA model was built on this. It's what worked in the past. Continued growth helps keep the fresh blood flowing and the average pay per employee down. It keeps people motivated by advancement instead of stagnation, stagnation which breeds discontent . It keeps them optimistic about the future. It's one of the reasons I came to this company..the expectation of advancement. I came here to contribute and to be a captain.
Months ago I approached SWAPA with my thoughts on their campaign to change the age 60 rule. I talked about a potential halting of retirements for the next 5 years and the affect it would have on advancement and moral. I talked to them about the possibility of declining productivity if over the next 5 years we retained the 700-800 guys that would have retired had the age stayed at 60, instead of hiring 700-800 new guys from the military, commuters, and furloughed pilot ranks. "Well" came the reply, we are growing so 700-800 guys won't really make a difference. I them asked him what would happen if growth stopped, and my response was a blank stare. I asked them about the companies plans to counter the potential decline in productivity, instead of the increase Mr. Kelly said was required to justify our present pay rates. Response..."Our pilots are different. They will be just as productive in their +60 years as they were in their -60 years." That's when the light bulb came on. IT'S ALL ABOUT THEM. Them being the few. Them that pull the strings. Them that polished this turd and sold it to the entire SWA pilot group while almost every other carrier voted NO to a change in the age 60 rule(hmmmmmm). And what will the fallout of this rule change be?
SWA will see it's productivity decline to a point where even our present increases will not be enough to sustain our present contract. More productivity will be asked by management which will again be unattainable. Health care costs will rise as claims increase. Disability costs will increase as claims increase. Payroll will increase as fewer new hires are required because of the retention of the +60 group. As these costs rise, our profits will decline, which in turn will impact our stock price. The end result will be a company looking for an offset, and that offset will be pay and benefit cuts. At that point I wonder to myself if the feeling will be the same as it was at my old airline, looking at a guy who should have retired long ago at the height of his game, but instead chose to linger on at the expense of others. Time will tell.
Back before SWA I worked for a carrier in a 3 person cockpit. I was in the right seat. The panel seat was occupied by a mix of super senior "I Ain't goin no where" 60+ guys, and super junior guys. Post 911, things went from Utopian to "Bagdadish". Furloughs began almost immediately with the hardest hit category being the junior guys on the panel. I can't tell you how many times I flew with guys on their last trip. Houses and cars would be sold to make ends meet. The wife would go back to work. The optimism of these guys was amazing considering the challenges which lay ahead. I would also fly with the 60+ guys on the panel and often, on the longer legs, our discussions would turn to the furloughs and the future health of the company. I would ask these guys if they thought, by them retiring, a younger guys job could be saved. Their response was almost always the same.."Ask someone who cares." or "It's part of this business". I asked them if they thought having an older guy like themselves retire while keeping the less expensive junior guy would save the company some hard needed cash. They knew where I was coming from and their F-U stare said it all. 6 months later my turn on the furlough list came.
I now sit at the bottom of another seniority list, this time at SWA. I'll preface my continuing rant by saying I love this company. It reminds me of the golden days at my old carrier .."The last job you will ever have." I feel honored to be here. I do not think though, for one second, that this company is infallible. Good companies make big mistakes, mistakes which can affect their financial stability. SWA is about to make one, affecting every pilot from the top down.
COSTS COSTS COSTS.
We hear it every day. Do what ever you can to control costs and save money. Our two biggest costs are fuel and payroll. Months ago I had the privilege of meeting Gary Kelly. I also had the opportunity to ask him a question. My question was whether or not he felt our pay was justified considering the direction the rest of the industry was heading. He said yes, as long as we BECAME more productive. He implied that each pilot would have to do more if we are to keep things the way the are. PILOT PRODUCTIVITY JUSTIFIES OUR PAY AND MAKE US PROFITABLE. After he said that I thought immediately about our pilot group and what, if any, impact a 65 retirement age would have on our productivity and in turn our pay and benefits. By changing the retirement age to 65 are we making the pilot group more or less productive? Are we going to make the company more or less profitable?
The Fallout!!!!!!!!!!
Two companies are at the forefront of the push to change the age 60 rule, Southwest and Jet Blue. SWA have a relatively old pilot group with a large number of age 60 retirements expected over the next 5 years. Jet Blue has a relatively young group with very few retirements over the next 5 years. Which airline will be most impacted by a change in the 60 rule. You guessed it....SWA. The question is, how will it be impacted and how will it affect our competitive edge in an industry where pennies make a difference?
Productivity: As pilots age we tend to be less productive. We work less, get sick more often, and account for a large percentage of the disability claims. The older and more senior you are, the more expensive you are to employ. The higher the average age of your pilot group, the more costly you are. It's why furloughs don't make companies profitable. You get rid of the young guys while keeping the older guys. The end result is drop in productivity and a skyrocket in the average cost per pilot. To offset this, management immediately goes for the quick fix..pay cuts. They don't work because then you have bred discontent, which in turn negates any benefit a pay cut would have wrought. Only by holding down the average age of an employee group are you able to control costs. SWA model was built on this. It's what worked in the past. Continued growth helps keep the fresh blood flowing and the average pay per employee down. It keeps people motivated by advancement instead of stagnation, stagnation which breeds discontent . It keeps them optimistic about the future. It's one of the reasons I came to this company..the expectation of advancement. I came here to contribute and to be a captain.
Months ago I approached SWAPA with my thoughts on their campaign to change the age 60 rule. I talked about a potential halting of retirements for the next 5 years and the affect it would have on advancement and moral. I talked to them about the possibility of declining productivity if over the next 5 years we retained the 700-800 guys that would have retired had the age stayed at 60, instead of hiring 700-800 new guys from the military, commuters, and furloughed pilot ranks. "Well" came the reply, we are growing so 700-800 guys won't really make a difference. I them asked him what would happen if growth stopped, and my response was a blank stare. I asked them about the companies plans to counter the potential decline in productivity, instead of the increase Mr. Kelly said was required to justify our present pay rates. Response..."Our pilots are different. They will be just as productive in their +60 years as they were in their -60 years." That's when the light bulb came on. IT'S ALL ABOUT THEM. Them being the few. Them that pull the strings. Them that polished this turd and sold it to the entire SWA pilot group while almost every other carrier voted NO to a change in the age 60 rule(hmmmmmm). And what will the fallout of this rule change be?
SWA will see it's productivity decline to a point where even our present increases will not be enough to sustain our present contract. More productivity will be asked by management which will again be unattainable. Health care costs will rise as claims increase. Disability costs will increase as claims increase. Payroll will increase as fewer new hires are required because of the retention of the +60 group. As these costs rise, our profits will decline, which in turn will impact our stock price. The end result will be a company looking for an offset, and that offset will be pay and benefit cuts. At that point I wonder to myself if the feeling will be the same as it was at my old airline, looking at a guy who should have retired long ago at the height of his game, but instead chose to linger on at the expense of others. Time will tell.
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