Flight Training - June 2021 - 47

ADVANCED PILOT CAREER PILOT

FINALLY!

PULLING OUT
OF THE DIVE

A CARD
FOR PILOTS.

AIRLINES BEGIN A RETURN TO NORMALCY
BY PETER A. BEDELL

Cash Back1 on
purchases with Select
AOPA Partners2-4
A CASH BACK1 REDEMPTION IS APPLIED AS A STATEMENT CREDIT.
QUARTERLY BONUS POINT CAP OF 2,500 POINTS

Visit

AOPA.org/creditcard
to learn more.

ALTHOUGH A FULL RECOVERY IS STILL

way off, airlines in the United States are
beginning to crawl out of their COVIDinduced hibernation. Furloughed pilots
are being recalled, airplanes are being
exhumed from desert storage areas, and
mechanics are prepping them for return
to service. The cabins aren't full save for
some Southern destinations, but passenger loads are up from the pandemic
doldrums of spring 2020. Transportation
Security Administration checkpoint
screenings bottomed out at 87,534 passengers on April 14, 2020. Throughput has
since recovered to more than 1 million
passengers per day as of this writing in
early March. Numbers from 2019 were
about double where we are currently, but
the trend is encouraging.
Among the pilot ranks at the airlines
are some aftershocks from the pandemic.
Some airlines folded. Some furloughed
thousands of front-line employees, including pilots. Other airlines took unique steps
to keep pilots on property but required
the rest of the roster to accept greatly

reduced hours. Bottom line? The vast
majority of pilots lost pay but gained a lot
of time off. Since many pilots have been
idle for months, atrophy of piloting skills
has become an issue and pilots require
training before returning to the line.
At my airline, it's been a mixed bag.
With the various government bailouts,
some pilots have been getting paid their
contracted minimum guaranteed pay
while sitting at home for months and not
risking exposure to the virus. Pay can vary
wildly month by month based on whether
or not a government bailout was enacted.
During months when bailouts don't apply
or expire, pilots revert back to a threetiered, reduced-hour program based on
seniority. On the other hand, some pilots
have been working full schedules as if
nothing happened and exposing themselves to lots of public interaction in the
middle of a pandemic. Airlines don't need
to waste time and money training thousands of pilots they're not using, so they
keep a core of current pilots active while
others languish.
AOPA.ORG/FT 47

*Certain points and purchases restrictions apply, see full Rewards Terms
and Conditions for full details at AOPA.org/creditcard.
1. Rewards points can be redeemed for Cash Back or other items provided through AOPA Pilot Rewards. A Cash Back redemption is applied
as a statement credit. The statement credit will reduce your balance but
you are still required to make at least your minimum payment. A minimum
of 2,500 points is needed to redeem for Cash Back. Values for non-cash
back redemption items such as merchandise, gift cards, and travel may
vary. 2. Participating AOPA partners include: Aero-Space Reports, Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co., Jeppesen®, Pilot Workshops, SiriusXM®,
Sporty's® Pilot Shop. The listed AOPA partners are in no way affiliated
with Commerce Bank, nor are the listed merchants to be considered
sponsors or co-sponsors of this program. Use of merchant names and/or
logos is by the permission of each respective merchant and all trademarks
are the property of their respective owners 3. Please note that merchants
self-select the category in which transactions will be listed and some merchants may be owned by other companies, therefore transactions may not
be counted in the category you might expect. Purchases made using Near
Field Communication (NFC), virtual wallets, or similar technology may not
be eligible for bonus points. 4.You will earn 4% Cash Back (1 regular point
+ 3 bonus points = 4%) for every $1 of Net Merchandise Purchases on
select AOPA purchases, 3% Cash Back (1 regular point + 2 bonus points
= 3%) for every $1 of Net Merchandise Purchases made at select AOPA
partners, 2% Cash Back (1 regular point + 1 bonus points = 2%) for every
$1 of Net Merchandise Purchases made at FBOs (fixed based operators),
aviation and auto fuel, and flight schools, and 1% Cash Back (or 1 point)
for every $1 of other Net Merchandise Purchases. For example, if you
spend $100, you will earn 100 points which is equal to $1 in Cash Back
rewards. A maximum of 2,500 bonus points will be awarded per calendar
quarter, per rewards account. Please allow up to five business days after
the transaction posts to your account for bonus points to be awarded.

http://www.AOPA.org/creditcard http://www.AOPA.org/creditcard http://www.AOPA.ORG/FT

Flight Training - June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - June 2021