Trovato un simpatico articolo sul su menzionato personaggio proprietario di Avia Solution Group proprietaria di BAA academy..che qua sopra ha un bel banner che offre il type rating sul 320 ad un prezzo “ de-iced “ . Questo personaggio andrebbe preso a calci nei coglioni.
“But this isn’t the happy ending you would think it is, argues Gediminas Ziemelis who heads Avia Solutions Group, one of the largest pilot training centres in Eastern Europe. Ziemelis argues pilots already have too much control and their greed for ever increasing salaries is putting an undue strain on airline’s trying to survive in today’s ultra-competitive landscape.
Gediminas Ziemelis, Chairman of the Board at Avia Solutions Group thinks a cadre of around 350 substitute pilots could be trained to break any potential flight crew strike.
Gediminas Ziemelis, Chairman of the Board at Avia Solutions Group thinks a cadre of around 350 substitute pilots could be trained to break any potential flight crew strike.
Ziemelis points the finger of blame at powerful pilot unions – both local and international who can afford expensive legal actions against airlines. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, with pilots already earning a high wage, able to contribute more in membership fee’s and in turn getting better representation at the negotiating table.
A case in point, Ziemelis notes is a six-day strike led by pilots at Lufthansa last year – the 15th such strike in little more than two years as a result of a bitter pay dispute. The cost to the airline is estimated at around €100 million.
Yet, this is a seller’s market. There’s a worldwide shortage of pilots so surely costs are driven up? Just look at Ryanair who by many accounts are facing an exodus of flight crew to low-cost rival, Norwegian – simply because they’re willing to pay more.
But Ziemelis argues it doesn’t have to be like this at all.
“One of the possible options – substitute pilots, who could get their training financed by airlines and then, in time of need, step in to replace their colleagues on strikes, save airlines millions of dollars and, most importantly, serve the needs of no longer frustrated passengers,” he says.
Rather than being a shortage of pilots, Ziemelis believes there are plenty of pilots in less well-off countries who would be more than capable of doing the job – at half the price. The only stumbling block is the ability to finance the expensive training.
Avia Solutions Group believes a group of between 350-500 trained substitute pilots could effectively prevent pilots from crippling an airline through strike action. Ziemelis explains: “It is simple math, really. In order to train the aforementioned number of substitute pilots, an airline would have to spend approx. €40 to 60 million ($ 50 to 70 million).”
Off course, it sounds like a nice idea for particularly aggressive airline’s but how well the plan would work in practice is not quite as clear-cut. The uproar amongst pilot groups if an airline tried to find this cadre of ‘substitute pilots’ would be a major issue. And then there’s the minefield of legal issues such a plan would dig up.
In the meantime, it looks like the power will remain in the hands of pilots. And for now, at least, airline’s will simply have to pay up.”