EXPERIENCE MEANS NOTHING TO DELTA

DELTA MOVES TO TRIM SENIOR PILOT RANKS
AIRLINE AND ALPA SAYING LITTLE ABOUT DETAILS

Chesley B. Sullenberger had over 40 years flying experience as he began his takeoff out of LGA. By now hitting a flock of birds must have been routine for him and quite frankly, most pilots with any experience.

What wasn’t routine was having both engines quit and being dead in the sky. What happened next was pure professionalism and experience taking over as Capt. Sullenberger or Sully as he is known by his friends, calmly and almost serenely maneuvered the powerless A320 into position to land on the Hudson River.

His voice was calm with no emotion or apparent fear and he put the craft down with hardly a ripple or splash, saving all lives; just another days work for a semi-old former Air Force veteran. A pilot with 29 years experience flying for US Airways, 57 years old; a man with experience.

Delta announced today the need to trim their older pilot ranks because of overstaffing and is to begin incentive packages to entice many older pilots to retire. The economy is to blame with looming cutbacks in staffing needs on the horizon.

So why not do what most companies do in downturns? Why not furlough junior pilots? Why? The rogue element that has taken over Delta since Jerry Grinstein’s departure is all about the green; money, their money. Safety means nothing to these people. Oh sure, they know the rhetoric about safety but not the substance of it.

How could they? Look at what they have done to our ranks on the ramp, one of the most dangerous working environments in the world. On the ramp all it takes is one agent not paying attention to a push out and someone dies. As a matter of fact someone already has in our history; twice.

Seemingly, Delta doesn’t care. They have had two programs to trim away experienced (better paid) employees from our ranks. The thinking is anyone can work the ramp. Yes, and anyone can learn to fly. But who wants to board a plane with a junior pilot who might not be up to par.

I’ll take a man like Sully any day. By the way, I prefer working an aircraft with senior employees; their bones might creak and their backs are sore but they know what they’re doing and they are reliable, on time and generally knowledgeable.

This is not meant to denigrate our young employees but experience takes time. We have many fine, hard working new agents, however, the job is much more complex than it appears on the ramp and safety comes with long serving experience; the kind of knowledge that Delta has been trying to get rid of for years.
Their greed is trumping the public’s safety. We need to stand up to this stupidity by unionizing through the IAM. All of us including the flying public will ultimately benefit. The only losers will be the greedy, temporary top officers of the company. Not a problem!