Here is what the head of the FAA really thinks of the profession...

[piav8r]

Wow... coming from the head of the FAA, a former pilot, and a former union president... Maybe if everyone treated us like professionals instead of Greyhound bus drivers things would be different... Thanks Randy!

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_arti...27862&catid=14

Pilots must "refocus" on professionalism...

WASHINGTON -- The nation's top aviation official says the Northwest Airlines pilots who overshot Minneapolis are part of a larger problem of professionalism among commercial airline pilots.
Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Randy Babbitt told an international aviation club on Wednesday that aviation is facing an "extreme need to refocus on professionalism."
He pointed to Northwest Flight 188, which overshot Minneapolis by 150 miles because the pilots were working on their laptops. He also noted the regional airliner that crashed earlier this year near Buffalo, N.Y., killing 50 people.
A former airline pilot and pilot union president, Babbitt says that in both cases the pilots forgot their first job was to focus on flying the plane.

 

[Hobit]

What was his job after leaving ALPA?

 

[Dan Roman]

I think he is right. There is a significant lack of professionalism in these incidents. I guess the question is, is it a symptom of the attack on our profession by management or is it a lack of caring about being a good pilot by some in our ranks.

 

[Bruno82]

Management tries to make pilots less professional to justify worse pay.

 

[LowlyPropCapt]

Management tries to make pilots less professional to justify worse pay.

I don't think so, actually. The reason the pay sucks is due to market forces that we as a profession helped create. The battle was lost as soon as the first airplane wearing the colors of the parent airline departed with non-mainline seniority list pilots at the controls. Had the Unions of the day insisted that brand scope was "a hill to die on", we would not be in the whipsaw fest we are in now. Basically, ALPA ate its young and we have been fighting the effects of that mistake ever since.

 

[flyboyike]

The battle was lost as soon as the first airplane wearing the colors of the parent airline departed with non-mainline seniority list pilots at the controls.

Amen.

The amazing thing is that there are some at mainline carriers who don't understand that to this day.

 

[WSurf]

I don't think so, actually. The reason the pay sucks is due to market forces that we as a profession helped create. The battle was lost as soon as the first airplane wearing the colors of the parent airline departed with non-mainline seniority list pilots at the controls. Had the Unions of the day insisted that brand scope was "a hill to die on", we would not be in the whipsaw fest we are in now. Basically, ALPA ate its young and we have been fighting the effects of that mistake ever since.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! Now you got FO's flying the 190's for 23.00hr and are proud and happy about it.

 

[CFI2766]

I don't think so, actually. The reason the pay sucks is due to market forces that we as a profession helped create. The battle was lost as soon as the first airplane wearing the colors of the parent airline departed with non-mainline seniority list pilots at the controls. Had the Unions of the day insisted that brand scope was "a hill to die on", we would not be in the whipsaw fest we are in now. Basically, ALPA ate its young and we have been fighting the effects of that mistake ever since.

Concur.

 

[CFI2766]

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! Now you got FO's flying the 190's for 23.00hr and are proud and happy about it.

It is easy to blame the new FOs, isn't it?

It's not their fault. The primary goal of every airline pilot is to advance his or her own career; not yours. If the path to the metaphorical left seat of the 747 is through the right seat of the RJ, so be it. Give the FO another path, that is better for the FO, and he or she will take it.

 

[makersmarc]

It is easy to blame the new FOs, isn't it?

It's not their fault. The primary goal of every airline pilot is to advance his or her own career; not yours. If the path to the metaphorical left seat of the 747 is through the right seat of the RJ, so be it. Give the FO another path, that is better for the FO, and he or she will take it.

That is spot on, in my opinion.

With regard to the professionalism of the crew that overshot MSP: While this was an isolated incident, it certainly makes ALL of us look bad.

 

[LowlyPropCapt]

Nobody blamed the FOs. They don't have any other choice of an entry point into the 121 world. The blame rests squarely on the shoulders of the greedy pilots of the past who couldn't be bothered with "little airplanes."

 

[WSurf]

It is easy to blame the new FOs, isn't it?

It's not their fault. The primary goal of every airline pilot is to advance his or her own career; not yours. If the path to the metaphorical left seat of the 747 is through the right seat of the RJ, so be it. Give the FO another path, that is better for the FO, and he or she will take it.

While I agree your statement, remember the planes are getting bigger and bigger! These regionals that are taking over all domestic flying are now 70-100 seats.
So where do you advance your career again? Everytime a Mainline Plane is parked it seems to be replaced with a Big Regional Plane! So that career advancement you wanted is slowly fading away.

 

[kf4amu]

Theres nothing wrong witih paying dues in small planes. The economics of operating those small planes on lucrative routes precludes them taking away lucrative careers.

The "I dont care what I fly or how much I get paid as long as I get a quick upgrade" attitude is a cancer.

 

[OverTorque]

It is easy to blame the new FOs, isn't it?

It's not their fault. The primary goal of every airline pilot is to advance his or her own career; not yours. If the path to the metaphorical left seat of the 747 is through the right seat of the RJ, so be it. Give the FO another path, that is better for the FO, and he or she will take it.

I'm glad somebody said this. Many mainline pilots came from the military and have no idea what life is like in a regional. They assume we are all bottom feeders taking away their jobs because we will work for less. Remember that every pilot has to start somewhere and NO pilot gets into the business to sit in the right seat of an RJ for the rest of his career. It's a means to an end that mainline pilots themselves created when they CHOSE not to fly RJs. Had scope never been given up, many regionals would not exist and many of us would be flying for majors and making better wages because the flying would still have to get done.

 

[RobCat]

Lowly

You always hit the nail on the head. I hope those young F.O's over there are picking your brain about business, life, and aviation as much as I did back in the good old days.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

A professional would accept criticism.. find the truth in it and make changes...

In addition, Babbits statements can be played to political advantage....

 

[WayBack]

Nobody blamed the FOs. They don't have any other choice of an entry point into the 121 world. The blame rests squarely on the shoulders of the greedy pilots of the past who couldn't be bothered with "little airplanes."

Nope, it's the regional FO's fault. Just ask any mainline pilot

Oh, and it's ALPA's fault as well.....had to get that in there.

 

[LowlyPropCapt]

Lowly

You always hit the nail on the head. I hope those young F.O's over there are picking your brain about business, life, and aviation as much as I did back in the good old days.

Thanks for the kind words, RobCat. That is high praise from you, and it is appreciated.

These are strange times that we live in... I mean if NetJets is furloughing, not a single one of us is safe.