America’s Most Experienced Pilots... The Next Wave of
Outsourcing?
According to Airline
Pilots Against Age Discrimination (APAAD), "Thousands of pilot jobs
in this country will soon be outsourced to foreign airlines with
the apparent consent of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the
nation’s largest pilot union. Industry observers say that
these job transfers will occur due to the union’s support for
an FAA regulation that prohibits American pilots from flying for
American companies past the age of 60 (the 'Age 60 rule'). In
contrast to ALPA’s stated position, a significant number of
ALPA’s own members along with pilots at Southwest, JetBlue,
Air Tran, and the British Air Line Pilots Association (BALPA) are
actively lobbying to change the age limit. In March, the
International Civil Aviation Organization voted to establish age 65
as the new international standard."
According to FedEx pilot, Bob Lavender, a 28-year airline
veteran and former ALPA member, the new standard goes into effect
on November 23rd of this year and will ensure the transfer of
American jobs to foreign companies.
“The new standard
means that American pilots who wish to continue flying past 60 in
this country may do so, but only if they go to work for a foreign
carrier.”
A good number of foreign carriers such as the fast-growing
Emirates Airlines are already recruiting American pilots, says
Lavender.
A seeming irony to this is that American pilots who work for a
foreign company will remain citizens of the U.S. and, frequently,
continue to reside here. They will fly the same types of airplanes
loaded with passengers and freight over the same exact routes as
their counterparts who work for American companies. Another twist,
adds Lavender, is that “American pilots who are forced to
work for foreign companies will likely add their voices to those
calling for increased foreign ownership of American airline
companies. It will simply be in their best interest to help their
new employers expand in this country.”
Other observers predict that the outsourcing of pilot jobs to
foreign companies will continue to put downward pressure on pilot
salaries at companies like FedEx where pilot pay is said to be the
highest in the industry. Says Gary Cottingham of the Airline Pilots
Against Age Discrimination organization, “Foreign salaries
are generally less than those paid at companies such as FedEx. The
increasing number of American pilots who are paid foreign wages
will drive the standards down.”
As for ALPA’s
continuing support of the age 60 limitation, Lavender states,
“This is another example of an American union
self-destructing by resisting change. It is a shame, but some
unions think that 50-year-old policies still work in the modern
world. Any union that condones the firing of is members solely
based on age, puts its entire membership at a global
disadvantage.”