Maybe BALPA can do something about it.
Don't hold your breath for that.
They might if you send them this........ and get everyone you know to do the same....... and yes i am the author from pap2f.com
The Chairman
BALPA
278 Bath Road
West Drayton
UB7 0DQ
Dear Sir,
INEXPERIENCED PILOTS PAYING TO FLY AIRLINERS
I’m writing to you because, as a member of the travelling public, I am becoming increasingly concerned at the “profits before safety” culture of the airline industry in this country, which is populated by your membership. Recently, several UK airlines have made many experienced Pilots redundant, yet you have stood back and done nothing about the airlines that are allowing 250 hour Pilots, who have paid to be there, occupy the Right Hand Seat of a commercial airliner during commercial operations; a result of what’s referred to by the industry as Pay to Fly Schemes. There have already been 2 incidents in which UK carriers, who have opted to use Pay to Fly candidates, have sustained damaged aircraft as a result, namely the A321 tail scrape at Faro and the A320 very heavy landing incident at Kos. These schemes should have been halted then and BALPA should have been leading the way. This is clearly an accident waiting to happen.
You are treating the travelling public with contempt by allowing us to be subjected to an erosion of safety culture in the airlines concerned. You are also showing similar contempt to your members that,
A)remain unemployed because you have taken no steps to stop the menace of these schemes, thereby directly contributing to experienced Pilots being out of work, which in turn has allowed the airlines concerned to populate their flight decks with inexperienced “pay to fly trainees”
B)are having their terms and conditions eroded as a result of such practices, which reduces morale. Hardly a great combination for crew compliment, demoralised Captain flying with an inexperienced “pay to fly trainee”
In an obvious attempt to eradicate the safety implications of this very shortsighted policy, due to an accident in the USA in which 50 people were KILLED, the US Senate has stepped in and has raised the bar with regards to the experience levels of Pilots allowed in the Flight Deck of an air carrier. Yet BALPA sits on the side lines, in what is a very obvious snub to its membership, and allows 250 Hour Pilots, who are probably NOT BALPA members, to buy their way into the flight deck, obtain 150 or so hours of “training” and then be dumped in the unemployed queue, with massive personal debt, where they become a “cadet” waiting to whore themselves to various airlines because they themselves have been replaced by another Pay to Fly candidate.
You maybe presiding over one of the biggest erosions of safety culture and employee terms and conditions the aviation Industry has ever known and yet you do nothing. Promoting the concept of, the less experience you have the more likely you are to find a job............. as long as you can pay for it, may be BALPA’s legacy.
I quote from one of your very own news letters, posted on a public forum regarding “pay to fly trainees” where the author even has the temerity to use the word risk but apparently the Union sits there, completely moribund with regards to any action;
“The concern is the financial situation many cadets are in may result in high levels of stress, which could affect their performance………………….. any impairment in their performance puts our passengers and ourselves at increased risk”
Performance is already impaired because there are 5,000 hour pilots sitting on the dole and 250 hour pilots sitting in the Flight Deck. I know of no other industry where this would be countenanced. How far will this go? Will inexperienced Pilots replace experienced Captains? What further reductions in safety will fare-paying passengers be subjected to?
Mr Chairman, I would say in light of the above, you should be working on behalf of the travelling public to mitigate ANY risk we face. By so doing, you will make flying on the airlines that bit safer; you will prevent the degradation of your members Terms and Conditions and you will prevent your future members from incurring up to £80,000 of personal debt with no way of paying it off.
Sincerely
A Concerned Member of the Travelling Public