Further to my earlier post above. What is happening now in the Aviation world, as a result of Covid19 and whilst I am sure things will bounce back at some stage, when exactly will this occur? How high a bounce, I don’t really know and some airlines will bounce higher than others and unfortunately some airlines will disappear altogether into the corner pocket, never to be seen, or heard of again. It obviously comes down to who has the deepest pockets financially and the most support from their Governments, as many are national assets, who play an important part in that countries economics.
For many Pilots out there, this may be an opportune time to seriously re-evaluate their chosen career path. I know that many flying jobs will return in some form or other, however, the way the world is, I very much doubt that this is going to be the last pandemic that comes along. How many career hits can you take in a lifetime, just so you can say you that you fly shiny big jets? I know the ‘flying bug’ does grab you and whilst I did have for the most part, a satisfactory and enjoyable flying career and flew with many great people, I have to say that I did not find the last 15-20 years or so, as enjoyable as they could have been. There were many and varied issues for this, some personal, some other things going on outside aviation, that were causing me dramas and also, a lot of fun had gone out of it, mainly because of the deteriorating relations between the aircrew body and company management. I am sure you all know the history behind all this, so I won’t dwell on it and open up old wounds.
There were many occasions where I would wake up in some distant hotel, at some ungodly hour and ask myself, why on earth am I doing this? Whilst I loved actually flying and operating the big jets and the 747 was my favourite, I found the noise levels in the 747-8F to be very unpleasant, especially when the Packs were on High Flow the whole trip, due the cargo being carried and I now suffer from a degree of Tinnitus, which I presume is as a result of this sustained noise over the years I flew them. How adverse on your health, over the long term, is all those years of operating through the night, getting very limited sleep over a week away on a USA pattern, the unsocial and sometimes frustrating Indian patterns, eating at all different times of the day and night and many other aspects that contribute to a lifetime of disruption to your well-being. It was only when I Retired really, that I realised how permanently fatigued I had been for many years and you learnt to live and cope with it, but it cannot be good for your health and general well-being. The Companies reluctance to bring in a modern and computer based Rostering System, just so they can have more control, is mind boggling in the extreme and is a huge indication of the ~cannot’ mindset, that has been to the detriment of the airline over the last twenty years.
Since I have been Retired, I have often thought that I should or could have done a different career, where I could have spent more regular time at home, lived a more healthier lifestyle and been more in control of my life, than living by a roster that comes out every month and is adjusted many times during it. I know that in many Professions, even Tradie jobs, people can work long hours, but generally they are home at nights most of the time and can go on Holiday when it suits them, not depending on how many Holiday Points they have. The Companies Staff Travel system has been a failure for many years and I hardly ever used it, as it was just too stressful, especially when trying to travel with a young family in the earlier days.
It may be a bit late for the older Pilots to change now, but if I was a young Aviator now, I would definitely be giving serious thought to what career would be best for me and my family over the long term. Even Pilots with only a few years to go, there are other careers or jobs out there, which would be satisfactory and enjoyable, other than being stuck in a noisy cockpit, somewhere over the world, at some ungodly hour and repeating the same process, month after month, year after year. I know that there is a bit of job status and ego that comes into it, but that is not as important as you think it is at times.
Anyway, I will leave you with that and hopefully it will make some folks sit back and really think on what they are doing and where they want to be, in the years ahead.
Best Regards.
PH