Pilot lives....yes they matter
I've been in an extreme state of shock at how the COVID-19 pandemic has and is unfolding across the planet. Without question, aviation has been brought to it's knees and with it the lives of millions of dedicated, hardworking, humans that make connecting the globe their life and livelihoods. The pandemic has laid bare systemic issues in every corner of our world. Racism, income inequality, gender dynamics, geopolitical chaos and corruption have all been paraded out in full force by the media to suit whatever left or right narrative they are spinning.
I can't help but be amazed at the complete and utter lack of coverage and oversight on an industry that is on the brink and is choosing to crucify it's workforce as a way forward through the pandemic. I am specifically alluding to the plight of pilots and the completely untenable position they have been placed in though no fault of their own.
Terms and conditions for aviators have been on the ropes for years. A pilot shortage was just starting to become a serious threat to the industry. With few exceptions, the industry reacted by squeezing productivity to the utter limits and lowering hiring standards to barely acceptable levels. The pandemic has turned out to be a moment of serendipity for the accountants and HR executives globally as they previously grappled to attract talent and provide competitive compensation to a dwindling pool of qualified candidates. One can almost hear them rubbing their hands together with a certain level of glee now that COVID-19 has solved their number one problem. The business of sending out lay off notices and redundancy letters is surely unpleasant, but can't go on forever and once through this bleak period, airlines will have pilots exactly where they have always wanted them.....in a corner and forced to accept whatever they are willing to provide, because, let's face it, where else will they work with their specialized skill set? NO ONE IS HIRING...ANYWHERE
I've tried to compare how other industries might react to the same predicament. It's hard to find a direct comparison. Aviation is just so specific and so susceptible to global events and economics. I did manage to give a colleague a scenario though. Imagine a hospital finding itself in a dire financial position brought on by uncontrollable external forces. The hospital management must do something to save the 'sinking ship', so to speak. Doctors are expensive, really expensive. How about we let go all our most senior and seasoned doctors, the ones with the most experience and knowledge but also the highest salaries, in favour of retaining all the residents and then hiring loads of nurse practitioners to deliver bulk medicine to the masses. Surely we would save loads of money. Lots of people would be served adequately by this model. Some would die, certainly, because their cases were too complex for physicians without the years of experience to decipher and treat properly, but that's the price we are willing to pay to save the hospital. The only problem is how the public might feel about all of this? I wonder what they would really think about being exposed to only the most novice of the industry because the spreadsheet just couldn't be balanced with the alternative? Obviously you see where I am headed with this.
The travelling public has no idea of the crisis that is currently coming to a cockpit near them. Beyond dumping seasoned veterans out like trash, the pilots left standing are expected to take much reduced salaries but continue on as the professional they are, safely operating the aircraft as if nothing has happened. Mortgages still need to be paid, kids through school and university, food on the table but somehow the economics only apply to the corporate spreadsheet and not the individual. The pilot should continue on as the robot they wish them to be, unrelentingly productive but not susceptible to any mental health issues brought on by having a nuclear bomb go off in your industry and life. Always in fear for your job.
The news from airlines across the globe is appalling. Mass redundancies in the Middle East with no transparency and metric as to how the decisions are being made, and when it might be over. Contract pilots in Asia forced into leave without pay and offered no communication as to when the situation might possibly resolve or what the plan is moving forward. Legacy airlines floating salary reductions of 50%. It's all madness. I don't know what the solution could possibly be. I am a capitalist at heart. Right now, though, the laws of capitalism can hardly be blindingly adhered to in these unprecedented times. It is well past the time for airlines to start truly engaging their pilot workforce as a way though this catastrophe. The draconian measures being used to trim the workforce and save the industry need to stop. The brain drain from the sky is going to be beyond what any reasonable traveller would consider acceptable if they truly knew. Yes, pilot lives do matter and it is time the airlines and public understood that.