Star Telegram article on low-time airline pilots

http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/322928.html

"Airline executives say recruiting less experienced pilots is necessary
because the pool of applicants is shrinking while demand for pilots grows."

"A starting pilot at Trans States, a regional airline that flies for
American under the name American Connection, earns $22 a flight hour, with
74 hours guaranteed a month, according to AirlinePilotCentral.com, which
tracks pilot salaries. That translates to an annual starting salary of
$19,500. A pilot flying 1,000 hours a year -- the most allowed under federal
rules -- would earn about $22,000."



Now...call me kookie; I don't have an MBA or anything, but when the average
starting pilot makes less per year than the average Greyhound or city bus
driver, not to mention the average airline employee--when the pilot's salary
is less than that that of the 22-year-old child care provider watching their
kid--gee, I *just can't think of any reason* why they can't find qualified
pilots anymore.

Maybe these freakin' Einsteins the airlines pay out the ass to make
executive and compensation decisions can fly the airplanes for them in order
to prove who's worth what and whether it's the pilots or executives that are
most important to airline operations.

America's corporate business community continues to reap what it sows. The
executives will make tons of money, the pilots will get their pensions
robbed or get laid off, the airlines will beg the taxpayers for bailouts,
America's best pilots will go work for overseas competitors, and passengers
will continue to bitch about airfares.

-c