Pilots On Food Stamps by Ben Mandell

Author:Ben Mandell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: pilot, pilots, poverty, food stamps, wages, passengers, airlline
Publisher: Ben Mandell

Chapter Ten

Airline Executives in Denial

I do not know how some airline executives come up with this stuff. Instead of trying to actually solve the problem of the pilot shortage, which is caused by poverty pilot wages, they continue to push back and attempt to continue these substandard wages that qualify pilots for food stamps.

Airline executives have a unique way of adding numbers together. I call it “airline math”. Airline math really does not add up very well, but these executives keep doing it over and over again.

On April 30, 2014, Bryan Bedford, chairman, president and CEO of Republic Airways testified before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation.

According to Bryan, Republic Airways is a large regional carrier with 6300 employees and more than 2,200 pilots.

Bryan is attempting to persuade Congress to relax the 1,500 rule which he is claiming to be the cause of Republic not being able to hire enough qualified pilots (It is not).

Bryan went on to attack the GAO Aviation Workforce Report which was released on Feb. 28, 2104.

The GAO report concluded there were currently enough available pilots, but, in effect, they were not able (or willing) to work for poverty wages.

Bryan then testified that the median annual wage for US airline pilots was $114,200 in May 2012.

That was really convenient for him to provide this number. That way we can compare the median annual wage to the annual wage that Bryan pays his pilots at Republic.

What Bryan failed to let the committee know was that none of the 2,200 pilots at his large regional airline makes anywhere near $114,200.

In fact, no pilot at any regional airline makes anywhere near $114,200 a year. Furthermore, there are many pilots at the major airlines who do not make $114,200 a year. Bryan’s airline math just doesn’t add up.

The top pay for a first officer at Bryan’s Republic Airways is $33,300 a year. It does not matter if you have worked at Republic for four years or for 20 years, Republic will only pay a first officer a maximum of $33,300 a year.

For years one through three, the Republic pay is even worse. Year one is $20,700 a year. Year two is $27,900 a year. Year three is $32,400 a year.

For year one, this equals a gross pay of $1725 per month. From that gross pay, the pilot will have to deduct his health insurance cost of $749 per month. By the time taxes and union dues are deducted the take home pay is less than $700 a month at Republic Airways. That qualifies a pilot for food stamps. It is not the pay that a professional should earn that has spent over $200,000 getting his training. It is not even close to the $114,200 that Mr. Bedford testified to Congress about.

By the way, Republic does not pay pilots if the flight is canceled for mechanical, scheduling or weather issues. So, if the pilot shows up at the airport and there is something wrong with the plane and it cannot be flown, the pilots and flight attendants do not get paid.

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