Professionalism in the Aviation Industry

The aviation industry is at a critical time due to the fact that there is a lack of commercial pilots these days.  Some talk about the fact that there are plenty of pilots but due to the low pay at the regional airlines and even domestic majors.  Others say the problem lies with the fact that there are not enough incoming pilots to replace the older retiring pilots.  Honestly, I don't think there is a difference in these arguments.  In my opinion, it doesn't matter what the reason is.  There is a shortage of pilots and this problem needs to be fixed.  Both of the problems posed are real and there needs to be a fix to both of them.  Overseas companies such as ones in China are offering much more money than domestic companies.  This needs to be rectified and with the ever expanding nature of the industry, I believe companies can increase the salaries that they offer.  The other issue is the fact that with the low wages that are offered to new pilots, as well as the mass of hours (1500) that a new pilot must build, the aviation industry does not look as appealing to the younger generations as it used to.  The initial cost of getting the needed pilot certificates will cost around $64,500 with the cost of tuition for the university as well as the room and board costing in the neighborhood of another $105,000 at the University of North Dakota, the largest public aviation program in the U.S. (Schlangenstein/Sasso 2016).

The way the current system was set up was supposed to make pilots gain more experience before being able to work as a first officer for the airlines.  This I think was meant with good intentions but that the same it is hurting the industry.  Not everyone wants to be an instructor after they become a commercial pilot, and a lot of people are not meant to be instructors.  This leaves little options for someone to build enough hours to make it to the airlines.  In addition to the 1500 hour requirement reducing the selection pool, it is also making it easy for the people who do have the hours to get hired.  This means that more opportunities will be afforded to those who have the hours but would not be hired otherwise.  In essence, if you have the hours required and you can fog a mirror the airlines will hire you.  This is going to lead to lower quality airline pilots over time.  Additionally what will affect the regional airlines is the "pool" of pilots that they have with over 1,000 hours of turbine time that the major airlines are pulling from (Croft, 2015).  This is going to keep the regional airlines at a lack of proper experience.

There is a great number of professional organizations that represent aviation professionals.  Much like ALPA represents airline pilots, Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA) represents air traffic controllers, American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) is the largest organization representing airport executives/managers.  The list is large and covers everything from mechanics to executives, women and other minorities in the aviation industry.

Switching gears now to the topic of professionalism and what ultimately led to the crash of Colgan flight 3407.  Professionalism to me is as simple as being able to conduct yourself properly in a professional atmosphere.  What I believe to be the ultimate reason to bring down Colgan flight 3407 was a lack of professionalism.  Professionalism, or lack there of in this case, includes the ignorance of management.  During the video, flying cheap, there was an interview with an airline executive who was under the impression that pilots who make under $20,000 dollars can live no problem with having to pay for a mortgage as well as pay for a crash pad and the rest of the expenses that come with adult life.  This ignorance is where the problem began with the awful quality of life for young line pilots of the time.  This led to pilots not being able to afford to live near their domiciles and having to endure long commutes.  This problem is what led to the crash of Colgan Air flight 3407, in combination with the pilots' lack of professionalism by confessing that they were tired and the female pilot was sick.  Had they come clean with the fact that they were unfit to fly the accident might not have happened.  I have learned a lot over the years about professionalism from my time in the Marine Corps, as well as my time at the university here.  I intend to continue to display the level of professionalism that I have grown to know over the years.  I will continue to try to set the example for others to emulate as well as following the lead of senior pilots that I work with as well as other senior people at whatever company I work for.

Shrinking Pool of Future Pilots Keeps Major Airlines on Edge. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2016, from http://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-29/shrinking-pool-of-future-pilots-keeps-major-airlines-on-edge

Croft, J. (n.d.). U.S. Carriers Face Shrinking Pool Of Pilots. Retrieved September 29, 2016, from http://aviationweek.com/commercial-aviation/us-carriers-face-shrinking-pool-pilots

National Airspace System Privatization

The National Airspace System (NAS) was created to control all of the traffic in the sky.  It is made up of all of the airspace above us, as well as the facilities and components that allow us to navigate that airspace, both ground based as well as the Global Positioning System (GPS) and satellites in the sky.  In 1958 the Federal Aviation Act created the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and gave the responsibility of the NAS to the government, creating Air Traffic Control (ATC) positions.  The positions cover everything from ground control to tower, clearance delivery, approach/departure, as well as terminal radar approach control (TRACON).  Between all of these positions every aspect of the NAS is covered and makes up a large portion of the FAA employment base.  Under the current system there are many different facilities that must be maintained by the federal government like the very high omnidirectional range (VOR), non-directional beacons (NDB), automatic direction finder (ADF) as well as satellites and other ground-based facilities that work with satellites.  The FAA is weeding these ground-based navigation facilities out as they come due for maintenance.  The goal is to completely convert to the Next Generation Air Traffic Control System (NextGen) to save money and increase efficiency, unlike the current system which costs a great deal to maintain as well as they do not provide the most direct routes for airplanes and leads to more fuel being needed which costs the end user more money.

This NextGen system relies on an array of digital technology linking satellite-based GPS systems directly to the cockpits of jets anywhere in the U.S. (Green, 2015).  This new system will greatly reduce costs to both the federal government as well as to the end user by not requiring as much maintenance to facilities and providing more direct routes for airplanes thus saving fuel.  The FAA advertises a savings of 39.7 billion dollars to the airlines in reduced fuel, crews, and the increase in flights available due to time saved.  Additionally, the FAA claims that there will be a savings of 6.5 billion dollars to the government with the increased safety and reduced maintenance required.  

While there are plenty of positive angles for the privatization of ATC, there are plenty of people and organizations that are against the idea of privatization.  The Experimental Aircraft Association) EAA has come out with an article stating the "facts" that they foresee with this proposal (H.R. 4441).  

“Let’s lay out the facts on this: moving to a privatized ATC system would not increase efficiency or safety, nor would it save any significant money,” said Jack J. Pelton, EAA CEO/chairman. “What it would do is create an additional aviation bureaucracy, since FAA would still remain, and also create a government-approved monopoly on air traffic services that is dominated by airlines and commercial aviation interests. This will hurt the safest and most complex aviation system in the world, which is why EAA is unequivocally opposed” (EAA, 2016).

Among these views, the EAA also states in the article that some of the other problems with H.R. 4441 are: Few promised savings or efficiency improvements, likely increase in costs, airline dominance of ATC governance, GA will lose services over time, and loss of government oversight.  What does this all mean?  Basically what the EAA is saying here is that since the airline industry is so large, they will take priority in airspace as well as the cost savings is directed mainly at them and this will lead to more costs for the GA community.  The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) feels similarly to the EAA.  In an article published by the NBAA in 2016, they make it clear that the main problem for them is the "user fees" that are going to be associated with privatizing ATC.

"In a submission published Jan. 7, NBAA COO Steve Brown (a former FAA deputy administrator) told readers “a seminal moment in the UK system’s history came when the supposedly ‘stable and predictable funding stream’ that would be generated by its user fees proved to be so volatile that it needed a massive bailout from the government and taxpayers.” Brown went on to cite a UK Airport Commission report pointing to “more delays, higher fares, and reduced connectivity” at airports in London and across the UK" (NBAA, 2016). 

Almost 50 countries have moved to privatizing ATC while only two other major countries have privatized ATC, Canada, and Great Britain.  Neither one of these situations can be compared to ours due to the fact that air traffic is much greater in the United States than in these other two countries.  Additionally there is no evidence that privatizing these countries has saved money, and in fact, the Great Britain government had to bail out the ATC industry after the 2001 terror attacks when air travel declined greatly (nytimes, 2016).  The majority of funding for the private ATC comes from airline ticket tax and user fees, this is the main reason why the GA community is against the proposal, as well as Delta Airlines' lack of support.

If the privatization of ATC ever takes effect what will happen is the FAA funding will go away and the control of ATC will be released to private, not for profit, organizations while the FAA will maintain a heavy oversight of the system.  The idea was proposed in the latest FAA reauthorization bill but was left out of the final draft that was approved in July so it will not take effect yet (Carey, 2016).  The reauthorization is only extended until September of 2017 so talks can, and probably will resume shortly to be introduced on the next bill.  Once it is passed through congress it will have to be signed into law (or vetoed) by the president.

I do not feel that the ATC system would be more efficient if it were privatized.  Mainly because I think there would be conflicts in control since the FAA will still have a heavy oversight of the system.  Additionally, I think that it will create rifts in the aviation community, mainly affecting the GA community as well as corporate aviation with the user fees potentially being too great for the common aviator to afford.

References:

 America's Air Traffic Control System Is Finally Going Digital. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2016, from http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2015/09/28/america-s-air-traffic-control-system-is-finally-going-digital.html

ATC Privatization Brings Few Savings, Threatens General Aviation Services | EAA. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2016, from https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/eaa-news-and-aviation-news/news/02-18-2016-atc-privatization-brings-few-savings-threatens-general-aviation-services

By The Numbers Air Traffic Plans and Publications Environmental Reviews Flight Information. (n.d.). Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Retrieved September 20, 2016, from https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/

Don’t Privatize Air Traffic Control. (2016). Retrieved September 20, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/15/opinion/dont-privatize-air-traffic-control.html?_r=0

FAA Reauthorization and Modernization. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2016, from https://www.nbaa.org/advocacy/issues/modernization/20160108-nbaa-counters-pro-air-traffic-control-privatization-op-ed-with-facts.php

National Airspace System Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2016, from https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/nas_redesign/regional_guidance/eastern_reg/nynjphl_redesign/documentation/feis/appendix/media/Appendix_A-National_Airspace_System_Overview.pdf 

Introduction

Hi, my name is Evan, I am a CFI at Eagle Flight Centre.  I became fascinated in aviation when I was a kid and have been working in the aviation industry since 2006 when I joined the Marine Corps.  While serving in the Marine Corps I was a crew chief/mechanic on UH-1 Hueys and AH-1 Cobras.  I accumulated over 1,000 hours on the Huey during my time and wanted to convert my knowledge to the civilian world as a pilot.  I have been in the flight program at Eastern Michigan since march of 2015 and will be graduating in December.  I finished my CFI certificate in July and have been working at the flight school as an instructor since then.  My plan is to finish acquiring the hours necessary for my ATP certificate and work at the airlines until I have the experience required to be competitive for a job at FedEx.

The only topic that I can think of that I would like to hear about is how the pilots have chosen their company that they work for.  The regional decision is a big decision and every company is different.  Any advice on company selection will be of great help.